Grayzone
by Devilish or Kittenish
Summary: Conflict between morals and reality is never easy. The grayzone is the hardest place to be, yet that is exactly where everyone belongs. Follow along as a young woman discovers love and fights to keep her loved ones from finding out what she is. AU-canon divergence/set in past
1. 1

A young woman was standing in an alley, watching the street silently. She seemed perfectly normal -wearing a ratty t-shirt, torn jeans, and scuffed shoes-except that her face was covered by a wooden mask, shaped like a cat's face with her hair covered by a red cloth. A hood covered her hair as well. The only thing giving her gender away was the vague figure visible through her baggy shirt. In her hands, she held a gun.

With a shake of her head, she opened the door in the alley wall beside her. An alarm sounded in the building as she strode in confidently. "Please excuse the intrusion," she told the people in front of her, her voice sounding mechanical, garbled by a device. Two men stood behind the counter with her, and a woman was browsing the jewelry selection.

"You," she gestured to the man closest to her. "Please, turn off the alarm. And you," she tossed a sack to the other man. "Kindly fill this." The alarm was cut off quickly and the one who had shut it off helped his coworker to fill the sack.

She looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry for inconveniencing you. You may leave." The woman, obviously pregnant, nodded and waddled out in terror. The woman gone, the villain turned to the men. "I'm dreadfully sorry." She accepted the full sack. "But, this is of utmost importance." She bowed perfectly, turned and left. The only proof that she had been in the jewelry store was the empty display cases, the terrified men, and the printed apology on the floor beside the door. Redcat's signature.

The villain, hauling the heavy sack, gracefully leaped up the walls to the roof. She continued her journey, leaping from roof to roof. Occasionally, she paused to make sure no one was following her.

The woman continued across town, not stopping until she stood on an abandoned-looking warehouse. She slid down the wall and stood outside the open doors. "I've got the shipment." She called from the doorway.

"Come in. Come in. My bodyguards know better this time." A slick, disgusting voice replied.

"Giran, I'm not coming in, so you show your stupid face. If you don't I can knock the rest of your teeth out." She growled. "I know you just loved losing that one."

Chuckling, a man stepped from the shadows. His messy gray hair shadowed his face, covering the glasses perched on his nose. Hanging from his lips was a lit cigarette, already half-gone. Around his neck was a gold chain, half-hidden by a white button-up. On top of that, he wore a loose purple suit jacket, purple dress pants, and perfect black dress shoes. "I see that you do indeed have the shipment. Your payment is here."

"Have one of your little pets bring it here," snarled the woman. "Then you'll get this stupid shipment."

"I see you're just as happy as always." The disgusting man laughed again. "Go ahead and slide her the briefcase." Another, much more intimidating man, stepped from the shadows behind Giran. He slid the black briefcase he held across the floor to her.

Kneeling, she opened it. After examining the contents in the case, she dumped its contents into the sack. The jewels went into the briefcase. "Here you go." She tossed the case back. "You can keep the tracking device." With that, she dashed away.

The woman stopped a few streets down, chuckling. That exchange had been simple for once. She got her money, he got his shipment, and both of them went their separate ways. She was uninjured, so that was a plus.

The woman ducked into an alley. She walked a complex maze before pulling her mask off to reveal a delicate face, short bright blue hair, and startlingly bright gold eyes.

The woman walked out onto the street and into a pub. "Hey, T! I'm here!" she yelled into the kitchen as she passed it.

"You're early." A man replied softly as he followed her. "How is Matt?"

"He's great. He's happy," she replied. They stepped into a break room. The woman began putting her stuff away, including a sack.

"That's good. He's getting good grades still?" The man, a very tall guy, sat and looked at her, gray eyes glittering above his thin mouth.

"Yeah, obviously." Her voice dropped as she told him the last part. "I'm so proud of him, I could die."

"Well, I'd rather not lose you to death." The tall man patted her head. "Now get changed and get to work, you're here for a reason!"

Nodding, she grabbed some clothes out of the small locker she had been putting things in and headed for the bathroom. When she emerged, she was wearing a neat white button-up, a black vest, black pants, and a pair of black shoes. She was tying her hair back as she left the room.

Casually, she jumped over the full bar. "I'm here to help, G!" The man she addressed nodded, his wispy green hair trailing. A faint smile graced his green, barely-there face. He looked like a pillar of man-shaped fire that gave off no more heat than a normal human would.

"Oi! Hurry up, L!" A man yelled over the din of people and handed her a paper. "I got a customer who's important!"

"Got that, S!" she replied, already serving up the order written on the page. S was the head waiter, G was the head bartender, M was the head chef, T was the owner, and L was the one who did everything. Tonight she was a bartender.

**A/N:** Hi! I'm, here with a BNHA story! I hope you guys like it! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it. The update schedule for this fic... is undecided, but I've got it all written, so you'll get lots of updates!

Edit: So, I'm updating all the chapters with grammatical fixes, because... I suck at grammar sometimes. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy. If you want, please leave a review, I love seeing them.


	2. 2

It was three in the morning when the pub, Lucky Tabs, closed. She had finished cleaning up and was heading to change into her normal clothes.

"T! I'm heading out, boss," She yelled as she passed the office on her way out.

"Stay safe, Luciana," T muttered, exiting his office.

"I will," she assured him and walked out.

The night was chilly. Winter was approaching fast. The woman tucked her hands into her hoodie's front pocket. The sidewalk was empty aside for the lone woman. The soft tapping of her worn shoes was occasionally drowned out by a purring car motor.

Tilting her head up, the young woman watched her breath against the black sky and yellow streetlights.

The peace was broken by a voice. "Young women like you shouldn't be out this late." A man stood in the shadows of an alley. "Or else something bad might happen to them." The nasally voice grated on the woman's ears.

"Oh? And who's to say bad things won't happen to you if you bother me?" She gazed at him calmly.

"Hah! That's a good joke." He snorted, a serpent tongue flicked out of his mouth into the light. "If you come quietly, I promise you'll enjoy this."

"Fuck off, you guttersnipe." The woman gave him a middle finger, still perfectly calm. "Or else, if you don't go quietly, the whole city might hear your screams."

"And who would do this?" The man stepped into the light. His eyes were mere slits. He had no nose, just two holes above a lipless mouth. His forked tongue slipped out and tasted the air again. His bald head caught the light meager. "You'll tassste so sweet." He hissed. The man moved to grab her.

"Well. I guess I'm not doing anything fun tonight." She muttered. As she said this, a man dressed all in black with black bird wings sprouting from his back dropped from the air onto the man's head. The new man had curly black hair, blue eyes, and a strong, square jaw.

"Again, young lady?" The masked man asked. "That's every night this weekend!"

"Sorry, Raven Wing. It's my job." She shrugged. "Anyway, I make great bait, right?" The underground hero glared at her as he tied the unconscious man up.

"No, you do not. You just make my patrol harder!" The hero squawked like an annoying bird. "And you reek."

"Well, it's not like I do this on purpose. It's not like I ask for help from you damn heroes anymore. Not like you'd help if I did," she smiled cheerfully. "And again. My job."

"Stop complaining. If you tell me what you mean, then you can complain." The man had tried to pry the story out of her many times with no success.

"Nope. You're one of a select few. I don't want to ruin you." She clapped her hands. "Besides, the only time we ever meet is when you're on patrol. I can't take you away from saving the real maidens in distress. I'm not one."

"The police are on the way," the man pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you are staying to talk to them and get an escort." He grabbed the woman's arm before she could move. "I'm tired of your shit and I work tomorrow."

"What a coincidence. I do too. Now let me go. I have better things to be doing."

"Like having a nice chat with me?" Raven Wing asked.

"No. Like taking care of myself. Sleeping, eating. You know?" She held her backpack strap tightly, still pulling away from the hero.

"No. I don't know. I don't even know your name."

"That's because you don't need to know it."

"Even though it would be better for you?"

"Nope. It wouldn't." Her voice was hard. "You wouldn't know that. And if you did, you wouldn't care. You wouldn't help me out ever." A car whizzed past.

"I help anyone. No matter what."

"You say that now." She looked away. Her eyes fell on a police car approaching them. "Let me go!"

"Stop." He grunted.

"Let me go!" She kicked him angrily. "I don't need the police." He grabbed both her arms so she wouldn't be able to attack him again. She could have gotten out if she wanted...

"This is the girl you've called us out here for the past couple of nights, eh?" She chuckled.

"Yes." The hero grunted. "The person harassing her is tied up. Go ahead and load him up."

Nodding, the woman cuffed the man and forced him into the back seat of the police car. "Now, young lady. What's your name, date of birth, and what happened here?" The slouching woman glared and mumbled something.

"Please repeat that," the policewoman told her firmly.

"My name is Luciana Duina. My birthday is December second." She scowled up at the woman. "That man was going to rape me. Raven Wing came, knocked him out, and forced me to stay against my will." That earned a laugh from the other two.

"All right. What year were you born? How old are you?" The woman continued to question, scribbling the answers in her notepad.

"I'm twenty-one. Now let me go. I've answered all the questions." The woman growled.

"Then Raven Wing will escort you home," The officer told them.

"Duina-Kun?" Raven asked her unenthused. The policewoman left.

"Don't call me that."

"Luciana?"

"Or that."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Nothing. Just leave me alone."

"I can't. I've got to escort you home."

"Call me Luciana," the woman growled. "Let me go now."

"I don't think so." He kept a firm grip on her upper arms. "Start walking towards your home." Scowling, she complied.

"This is only because I want to get home." She yawned. They continued to walk in silence.

Following her directions, an apartment building rose before them. It was a nice one, with a security system and all. Even if it was still too close to a nasty part of town.

"Thanks, I guess. I'd have been fine without your help," Luciana sighed.

"You're welcome anyway." He offered a business card to her.

"Why the fuck do you have a business card?" she snarked. She had taken it and began examining it curiously.

"Because I'm an underground hero," was his reply.

"Whatever," she attempted to shrug out of his hold. He held tightly to one of her shoulders.

"If you ever need anything, call me?" He told her before releasing the shoulder.

"Whatever, you weirdo." She hurried inside and up the many flights of stairs. The hero watched the outside of the building for a few minutes before leaving.

Quietly, Luciana slipped into her apartment on the top floor, ten stories up. The clean apartment's living/dining room was minimally furnished, containing only a worn green couch, a tv, a wooden table, and two chairs.

She shed her shoes and dropped her backpack on the couch before moving to the hall just past the kitchen. At the only door on the left side of the hall, she peered inside the quiet room. The only thing visible by the light from the window was a bed. On the bed was a sleeping boy.

Sighing, she closed the door softly and continued to the first door on the right. She opened it less cautiously and stepped inside. It was a plain bathroom, with towels, soaps, and clothes strewn around.

Luciana kicked stuff out of the way as she made her way over to the shower, locking the door behind her. Turning on the water, she began to strip, leaving her clothes in a neat pile. She grabbed a towel out of the cabinet above the toilet and hung it beside the shower. To give the water more time to heat up, she began cleaning up the counter and floor, returning the soap to where it belonged and moving the towels and clothing to the basket under the counter.

When that was finished, she climbed into the shower with a sigh. She leaned against the wall with a sigh, resting her head against the still cool tiles. She was exhausted and still had so much to do.

Once she was done cleaning herself, she grabbed her towel, dried off, and left the bathroom. She moved into the smaller bedroom next to the bathroom. In there, she quickly got dressed, wearing a red t-shirt and some jeans. Brushing her hair, she hurried out of her neat, impersonal room to the kitchen.

She began gathering the ingredients for breakfast. Once it was all organized, she clipped the front of her hair back and began cooking. It wasn't that long until six when she finished and her brother emerged from his room. He was a muscular young man, with sharp blue-gray eyes, tousled black hair, and an easy smile. He looked to be around his mid-teens. His face shape resembled Luciana's.

"Good morning Matt! Did you sleep well?" She spoke over her shoulder as she pulled out the milk.

"Lucy nee-san, I slept well. Did you?" He asked sleepily.

"Yeah. I made breakfast. Just sit at the table, okay?" He nodded and sat, but she couldn't see. Plating the food, she brought two plates over. One was smaller with less food, the other larger with more food.

She set the fuller one in front of him before sitting across from him with the other. "Thank you for the food." They said in unison. He instantly began digging in. She smiled softly at him, picking at her food.

She took a small bite. "Don't worry, your bag is ready, too. All you need to do is shower, get dressed, and leave. Then you can make me proud."

"Make Mom and Dad proud too!" He yelled.

"Yeah… make them proud too." She muttered and took another small bite. Her food was half gone and he was completely gone. Matt stared longingly at her plate.

Chuckling, she pushed her plate across. "If you want it, just ask. You can have it, I'm not that hungry anyway." She stood and returned to the kitchen with his empty plate.

"Go shower, ok?" She called over the running water.

Nodding vigorously, he leaped up and rushed to his room. The door slammed behind him. Luciana laughed as she hand washed the two plates and all the implements she cooked with. Another door slammed as her brother rushed to the bathroom.

With a happy smile lighting her face, she prepared a bento for Matt. He emerged from the bathroom, cleaned up and dressed in his school uniform. The UA uniform complete with a tie and blazer.

"Have a good day." She hugged him. He squeezed her back, his grip too tight.

"I'll go be a great hero! I'll be hero to all!" He smiled down at her, bouncing in place.

"You go do that." She let him go and opened the door. "Remember, I love you."

"Loves!" He yelled and ran out. She shut the door quietly behind him.

Exhausted, she glanced at the clock. It was seven exactly, right on time as always. Luciana let out a large yawn before stumbling back to her room. She quickly changed from her clothes into a pair of pajamas and falling onto her bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. It had been a long night.

**Edit-11/19/19 **Heyo, just fixing grammar mistakes, don't mind me.


	3. 3

The hottest news right now were the interviews of the pregnant lady who Redcat released and the two men who worked there. Said villain was currently settled on the couch watching. It was only four, so Matt wouldn't be home for a little while.

"Heh…" Luciana chuckled to herself. This was actually pretty entertaining. The three people she had so courteously shocked were speaking well of her. At least her manners anyway.

The interview finished. The woman was lost in thought, ignoring the television that was playing whatever, when an alarm beeped from the kitchen.

Time for her to check dinner.

It was done, so she pulled it out and set the table. That finished, she hurried to her room and quickly threw on the clothes she was wearing earlier. Matt would be home any minute! She stumbled back to the kitchen, tripping on the way. She was just starting to fill a cup with water when the door opened.

"I'm home!" Her brother called.

"I'm getting water! Go ahead and sit down." She called sweetly. She filled a second cup with water before entering the other room. Her brother was sitting at the table, his stuff trailing across the room.

"Here." She handed him a cup before sitting. He thanked her before they both began eating.

"Nee-san." He addressed her. She hummed a reply, her mouth full. "Am I dumb?"

"No! You are not dumb. Who said you were?" Her eyes narrowed in fury.

He flinched and muttered, "N-no one did." He tugged at his shirt.

"Who did?" Her voice was cold and angry.

"My teacher!" He frowned. "He called me dumb and useless! It hurt me…"

"You're not dumb. You're smart. Brilliant. Remember, you are a genius. You just don't work like other people. I promise you." She came over and hugged him. Just because he wasn't normal didn't mean he was dumb. He was literally a genius!

"If your teacher thinks you're dumb, then I'll take care of it. You're too great for them anyway." She patted his head. "I was going to surprise you later, but… you can take the exam. We have enough money." She smiled at him.

"You mean it?" He sniffled, looking super excited. She nodded, her smile growing wider. "I'll be a hero!"

"Yes, you will." Her smile faltered. Matt was too busy dancing around to notice the fear and pain on his sister's face.

The next day, Luciana walked her brother to UA. She had her special pass ready and went with him all the way to his classroom. They were the first people there.

"Ok, I need you to wait out here, can you do that for me?" She calmly asked her little brother.

"Yes. I'll stay here." He smiled at her and sat against the wall.

"Good." She turned and stepped lightly into his classroom. Inside was Matt's homeroom teacher, the pro hero Crimson Blade. A tall man with long red hair and green eyes, his quirk allowed him to manifest crimson blades, as his name implied. His hero suit was a tight red tank top, for showing off his muscles; red sweatpants, for mobility; and red combat boots, for durability.

"Ah, Duina-san. Is Matt having a bad day?" He asked.

"No. One of the teachers insulted him. He was torn up about it." Her demeanor chilled the room. "I'd like to have a word with them."

His easygoing smile vanished. "I'll take you to them. The other students won't be arriving for a while."

"I greatly appreciate this. Is it alright if Matt sits in here for now?" Her smile was back, but it was darker.

"That's fine." The pro hero smiled at the mention of his brightest student.

"Matt!" Luciana yelled. "You can come in here now." The door slammed open to reveal her bouncing little brother.

"Your sister and I need to go do something, can you clean the board for me while I'm gone?" Crimson Blade asked.

"Yes, Crimson-sensei!" Matt replied, slightly louder than needed, and rushed to clean the board. His grin was wide as ever. He loved helping people.

"Let's go." The young woman told the older man quietly. "All of his teachers will be here now." He nodded and they began walking to the teacher's lounge.

"Oh, by the way, Matt can take the test. We have enough money." She told him casually. "I picked up enough shifts to make enough."

"Really? Thank goodness for that."

"I know." She turned her brilliant smile on him. "I'm so glad."

Her smile changed as soon as they stepped into the teacher's lounge. It had become sickeningly sweet. Almost all of Matt's teachers were there.

"Where's Tungsten?" Her voice was just as sweet as her smile. Tungsten had been their hand-to-hand combat teacher.

"He left. For America. His replacement started just last week," Crimson replied. "He's always late, but don't worry, he's not a bad guy. I'll introduce you after."

"Ok." Her smile turned deadly. "Let's get to business."

All the teachers knew her, except for the new one. They all knew, don't mess with her brother. Luciana could take any of them down with words, fists, or quirks. Nobody wanted to cross her, especially after the tongue lashing she gave them with Crimson today.

"When will the new teacher be here, Crimson?" The woman was exhausted now that she had taken care of the problem.

"Soon." The man shrugged. They sat in silence for a long moment.

"How is Matt's quirk training coming along?"

"He's doing great. He's progressing rapidly, but steadily. He's top of the class in everything still." Matt's quirk was a physical enhancement, allowing him greater strength, flexibility, and agility. He was also a genius. The only drawback was that it was kind of like autism and prohibited his speech and social skills. "He works really hard to do this."

"I know," she yawned again.

"Are you getting enough sleep?" Crimson asked, just as the door opened. "Oh, it looks like he's here."

"Raven Wing!" She yelled and jumped up. "You're the new teacher?"

"Oh, Luciana," the hero scowled. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"No. I'm here to meet you." She scowled back.

"Wait, you know each other?" Crimson jumped up, confused.

"Yes. She's the woman I've been rescuing every night recently."

"I don't need rescuing," she growled at him.

"She really doesn't," Crimson shivered.

"Wait… is she the one that beats teachers up?"

"Yes." The girl smirked. "Got a problem with it?"

"Not at all, some of them need it. What are you doing here?" The man asked, settling at his desk.

"I was scolding a teacher. He insulted my brother," her grin was deadly.

"Wait… You're the Lucy he chatters about?!" The man physically recoiled. "You're nothing like what he says."

"Just know, if you hurt him, in any way, you'll have to deal with me." With the promise aired, the woman stalked out.

"...Is she always like that?" The underground hero asked.

"Tired, yeah. Snarly about her brother, yes. Defensive, no." The regular hero replied. "She's always protective of her brother. And I don't think I've ever seen her well-rested."

"Do you know what her job is?"

"No idea, she never told me anything about herself," The redhead shrugged. "But hey, she likes you, so don't piss her off."

The ravenette looked at the other man strangely. The only reply was a shrug as he left to take care of his class.

**Edit-11/19/19- **Still fixing up my oopsies. You'll see an update soon though!


	4. 4

"Genshi," Luciana called softly to her coworker, Genshi Risa. "I might be late tomorrow." The bar was empty, despite it being one of their busiest nights.

"Why?" The wispy haired man's voice crackled.

"My brother needs help," she grinned at him tiredly. "He needs a training buddy."

"I see. I can have someone take your shift if you need it." His barely discernible mouth was titled down.

"No, no, I'm just going to be late," she blinked at him. Sometimes it was hard to look at him because of the light he gave off. "I'm fine, Matt just needs my help."

"You look like shit." Someone else chimed in.

"Tashinam Shuack, you shut the fuck up." Luciana snapped at him.

"Don't call me that!" He shrieked. "You call me S, do you hear me you, idiot?!"

"He is correct. You look terrible. Are you taking proper care of yourself?"

"I'm fine. I just have had to be up more often during the day."

"Really?" T, their boss, asked from the door to the kitchen.

"Really, boss." She glared. "I'm fine."

"Then you'll be fine if G has someone take your shift. Other's need the money," the tall man smirked and retreated.

"Fine. They can take my shift for the next two nights." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Next time you need extra shifts for someone, tell me. It's not like I'm hurting for money." The man nodded at the lie. The only way to get her to do something like that is if someone needs help.

"You lazy, bitch!" S yelled. "I need your help!"

"Are you admitting that I'm the best waiter?" she teased.

"No! You're just getting out of work like a lazy slut!" He yelled back.

"I hate you too, fucktard." She laughed.

"I hate you, you whore," he grinned. The others still around just shook their heads at their unique interactions. Normally, Luciana only insulted S, and S only insulted her.

They settled into a comfortable silence, each one cleaning something. The only sounds were a dishtowel on glass, a broom running across the floor, and running water.

"Does anyone know why it's dead?" Luciana asked before yawning. She had finished what she was doing and was now sitting on top of the bar.

"I've got a client coming in," T told her. "He'll be here soon."

"On a busy night? He must be paying well." She whistled. They all finished their tasks.

"Boss, is it a meeting we have to leave for?" S asked. T shook his head.

They waited for a few more minutes for the door to open. When it finally did, it revealed Giran, dressed nicely with an entourage of bodyguards.

"T. I'll be in the back. You guys can handle him." Luciana whispered to her boss. Her eyes were cold and hard. "I'm going to lay down."

"Good idea," was the whispered reply. T saw the way he had begun eyeing her up. Luciana left the room a moment later, shooting a steely glance at the relaxed Giran.

"Oh, where is that cute little lady going?" The oily man asked. "I thought she could entertain my men while we talked."

"Our coworker, L, isn't feeling well. She's going to lay down," S sneered.

"Yes, unfortunately, L isn't feeling well. G and S will be taking care of everything for now." T stepped forward. "I'm Tabs, the owner of the bar. Go ahead and sit anywhere you like." Giran's oily smirk never left his face.

"Yes," the man sat in front of the fire. "Me and my men will be here for a while. Go ahead and order boys." The six bulky men all sat in a ring around the table. The rest of his men filled the other tables.

Luciana, sitting on the couch, was irately shoveling food down. Of course, that oily sack of shit would come to this bar! Of course, he'd want to do business here. It was one of the most popular places to be. It was outside the red light district, but close enough that all sorts of crap criminals frequented the bar. Not that anyone knew she was a criminal too!

"Arg!" she threw her bento down. "Why is tonight going so wrong?" Her head dropped into her hands. She'd eventually have to come out, but would that shithead recognize her voice? Did her making her voice sound different for that kind of work help her stay hidden? Did disguising herself help?

Tomorrow was her birthday. Insomnia and nightmares from said day were continually cutting down the amount of sleep she got.

Maybe, since she wasn't coming in tomorrow, she could avoid the topic of it being her birthday entirely. Matt never remembered so she was safe from him. Crimson wouldn't do anything on a Saturday. Raven Wing, she had no idea. He was the wild card in her deck and she didn't know who held it.

She laid down, closed her eyes, and draped an arm across her face with a groan.

"L, I'm sorry, but we need your help." It was Mei, the cook. "Tabs said you have his permission to break anybody who touches you. Well… except Giran."

"Ok, M. I'll… be out in a minute." The woman groaned. And now she had to serve grabby idiots. At least she'd get to break some bones. With a long-suffering sigh, she hopped to her feet and trudged out of the room.

When all was said and done, Giran and his little troupe had left. Luciana had broken way too many arms and other appendages.

"That. Was. Horrid!" M stomped her foot to emphasize her point.

"I agree. Please tell me you aren't going to work with him?" Luciana begged. "That was a show of power, I know, but, I-ugh!-know he's not someone you want to deal with." The girl shuddered. Giran himself had groped her. She had nearly retched on him. The only reason he hadn't received the same treatment as his men was because Tabs had stopped her.

"And this i-" she yawned. "is why I hate serving. Getting groped by that nasty dude is no fun."

"Hey, do you think I enjoyed tonight either?!" S squawked.

"No. No, I do not. Not in the least. That man is nasty and none of us enjoyed this." The girl patted her friend's shoulder.

"I agree." G chimed in.

"Well, hearing your opinions confirms my decision. We won't be doing business with Giran." Tabs continued to scratch his head. "I'll instead direct him to Devil's Roost. It's a better fit."

"Thank goodness. Anyway, we're too small for him." Mei sighed in relief. Everybody agreed.

"I-" Luciana yawned again, "need to get home."

"We all do." G agreed. "Does anyone want a ride?"

"No, I've got my cycle." S shrugged.

"I'd like one, if you wouldn't mind," Mei suggested shyly.

"No. I'm walking." Luciana shook her head firmly.

"Why?" M asked.

"I prefer to walk." She gave them a crooked smirk. "Besides, someone is waiting for me on the way.

Grabbing her backpack after changing, Luciana began her walk home. A few feet from the bar, S passed her on his motorcycle, popping a wheelie. She shook her head with a grin and flipped him off.

About halfway home, she stopped. "Raven Wing. I know you're up there. Just come walk beside me," she yelled up. He had followed her from Lucky Tabs.

"I'm somehow not surprised," he told her, gently gliding down to meet her.

"Well, to be frank, neither am I. Why you are still following me is what I don't know. And why not just walk with me?"

"I'm making sure a young woman gets home safely." They started walking. "And I don't know."

"No, you are trying to figure me out. I'm a mystery," she yawned. "And yes, I still look like shit, and I stink."

"Took the words from my mouth," he chuckled.

"And you stink and look like shit too. How is Matt doing in school?"

"Good. As always." He had learned how much Matt meant to her from accompanying her home most nights for the past months. "But, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Sleeping. Matt is going to play games." Tomorrow was a Saturday, so she could just sleep late. "Then, we'll train."

"No, I meant for your birthday." The girl stopped and blinked at him, looking sleepy, confused, and alarmed all at once.

"Nothing." She continued walking faster. The wildcard struck.

"Stop." He grabbed her arm and stopped her. They weren't far from the apartment building. "That isn't how you should react when someone mentions your birthday."

"It's how I react. It's a pretty shitty story I'm not telling," she told him, glaring at the street with a deadly venom. "So, please, don't bring it up to my brother."

She looked at him, her eyes held a haunted look. "I won't." He pulled her to him and hugged her. She buried her face in his chest and hugged him tightly.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered. He couldn't understand what she said, and, instead of asking, he hugged her tighter.

**Edit-11/19/19: **I'm good at screwing simple things up. Funny, because I already knew that and this just makes me laugh about it.


	5. 5

Luciana had stayed locked up in her room all day on her birthday and the day after. Matt had been taken care of by their across-the-hall neighbor, who also happened to be Luciana's best friend.

The woman had alternated between sleeping, and silently shivering on her bed. The nightmares were getting worse.

Shaking her head, as if to banish the thoughts of her nightmares, Luciana got dressed. She got dressed not in her casual clothes, but in her villain clothes. It was simply some cheap clothes that anybody could own and her mask.

Tonight's job was supposed to be simple. Another jewel robbery, this time from a millionaire. A drop-off, then she was done. This one would be more complex, but still simple. She knew Raven Wing was still watching her, so she'd have to be careful. Raven was becoming dangerously important to her, kind of brotherly...

Since her shadowy guardian was still around, she had to pretend she was going to work, then lose him after walking halfway there. Simple.

...Or not. She had walked over two miles out of her way, and someone was still following her. It wasn't Raven Wing, he had left a while ago. She wasn't certain of who, but they wouldn't like it if she caught them.

"Enough. Come out, whoever you are!" she snarled. She had intentionally backed herself into a dark, dead-end alley so that they would feel safe. A man came out of the shadows, a villain.

"Hello, girly." He chuckled darkly. She couldn't make out any details, but she could tell he was tall, broad, and dumb. "I've come to get my revenge."

"For what?" She leaned against the wall. "I'm just some young woman you've been following for quite some time."

"For rejecting me. You're the hot bartender at the Lucky Tabs. I saw you walking, and decided tonight was the night," he chuckled again. "I'm going to have so much fun with your body."

"No. You're just an idiot. If I work at Lucky Tabs, I'm not a weak little girl. You know, the bar has a reputation to uphold," she giggled mockingly.

"Hah! Like you would be able to take me on without help." He stepped closer and towered over her.

"Oh, you flatter me." She giggled, keeping her voice high and innocent. "You know, only the best of the best. And I'm one of them, whore."

"You little chit, you're dying tonight!" He roared and reared back to punch her. Her fist flew forward, striking him in the stomach. He groaned and grabbed his stomach.

Flipping his arm around, she forced him to the ground and pinned him using his arm. "Puke away from me." She ordered. He puked all over, painting the wall with bile.

"Fucking slut!" He snarled, fighting to get up. "Let me go!"

Snap! She broke his arm. "I guess I get to have fun~" she sang with a maniacal grin. This would take some time and blood.

The job was simple, but getting home was not.

It was almost three in the morning and Luciana was still out. Her clothes were covered in blood so she had to stay in the alleys.

Crash! One of the stores on the street collapsed. A massive gang, with over a hundred villains, was ambushing two heroes. It was Endeavor, the number two hero, and his sidekick, Unison. Unison's quirk was Unity, which allowed him to help anyone work together smoothly. He was wearing a white bodysuit decorated with swirls and dots and carried a couple of swords and a rope.

Endeavor had red hair, blue eyes, a ridiculous skin-tight blue bodysuit with red stripes, and a fire quirk. His hair and face were lit by a ring of fire blazing on the man's shoulders. He also had a mask of fire around his eyes.

Any people around began frantically fleeing the scene. Luciana just watched from the shadows.

It was a bad matchup for Endeavor and Unison. "Ah… Nothing is going well today," she groaned. Endeavor had been cornered into the alley directly in front of her. Meaning, she was cornered too and couldn't do anything.

One of the villains, sneaking around behind him. He grabbed her and held a knife to her throat. "Give up, or this lady gets it!" The man, more scared boy, yelled nervously. She sighed again. Her appearance alone would cause questions.

The hero looked back for a moment and scoffed, his scowl deepened when he took in her appearance. Bloody and worn, she was just ready to be home. "You know, kid, you really don't have the heart for killing," she calmly spoke, as if there was no knife pressed to her throat. "You should stay that way." Actually, the knife was barely even close to her throat.

"I mean it!" His hand shook violently. Luciana reached up and pushed his arm away from her, flipping him over her shoulder with his other arm. The boy hit the ground with an audible thud.

Another villain shot out of the shadows and body-slammed her into the wall. Her head smacked the wall with a crack as her ribs screamed in protest. The villain attacking her threw her. She flew into Endeavor's back, the big man barely flinching.

Hitting the ground on her knees, Luciana curled over her legs, gasping in pain. Her head was screaming. Endeavor turned around. He had been working his way towards her.

"Tch," he scoffed and scooped her up. His grip was surprisingly gentle, despite how large and strong he was. She hacked up more blood from her bitten cheek onto her shirt. He half-cradled her in one arm since he couldn't put her on his shoulder due to the large flames there.

Surrounded by villains and carrying an injured woman, the hero was obviously outnumbered. Luciana groaned. She needed to get to Matt!

She was only half-aware as Endeavor decimated the villains and buildings blocking them in. Before long, all the villains were defeated.

The man -still holding her- brought her out to the street and gently laid her on the ground. He pulled her backpack off of her and placed it beside her hand.

"Thanks," She winced.

"Shut up." The hero growled. He began pulling off her jacket in order to perform first aid.

"What-" she began. She spat out a little bit of blood from her cheek. She hissed in pain as he touched the lump on her head, checking for any other injuries. "What are you doing?"

"You need to go to the hospital," he told her firmly. He was scowling down at her. "You might have a concussion." Her head had hit the wall pretty hard.

"Ok," She croaked. He glared down at her. He stood and walked away.

The E.R. finally released her. She had no concussion, just a lump on her head and a bruised chest. Her best friend was picking her up. He'd watched over Matt for her this morning. It was well after ten in the morning. He was a gay man, the same height as her, with pink hair, pink eyes, and caramel skin.

"Last night was awful." The young woman began ranting at her friend once she was in the car.

"At least you were rescued by a hunk of a hero, right?" Her friend asked once she finished. They were sitting in the car, parked in the hospital parking lot.

"Of course you'd think of that first!" Luciana smiled and rolled her eyes as they pulled out of the spot.

**Edit-11/19/19: **I make so many mistakes. Like hundreds. All on this one story. How am I that freaking bad at this? Wait. I know. It's because I'm smart.


	6. 6

"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!" Matt yelled, pounding on her door.

"Yeah?" The girl groaned through her pillow.

"Ichigo says we need food!"

"Tell Ichigo I'll go out later."

It had been a week since her birthday. The nightmares wouldn't stop. Raven Wing, Crimson Blade, and everyone at the bar had all gotten her a present, reminding her of the fact that she was now twenty-two. Being at a hospital hadn't helped her. She **hated **hospitals.

"Go out now!" Ichigo yelled and slammed her door open.

"I don't want too," the woman mumbled. "'M sleepy." Not really, she was just frustrated.

"Nope. You're going out." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She hung limply in his grasp. "You look terrible by the way. Do you want some makeup?"

"No," she moaned again and struggled out of his grip. She wanted to mope in bed and feel terrible. Since that wasn't going to happen, she'd just leave.

"Then get out of here. I'll watch Matt, you go do whatever, sweetie, but is it okay if my boyfriend comes over?" She nodded, picking out her outfit.

"Can I pick an outfit for you?" He eagerly asked.

"No, get out so I can change." She slapped him away from her closet.

"Fine, fine," he raised his hands in surrender, marching out the door. "And don't go down the fire escape!" The door slammed behind him.

"Ugh…" the bluenette groaned as she got ready to go out. She tossed on a shirt, jeans, and socks, then brushed her hair.

Too late to escape to the roof, she exited her room and slipped into the empty bathroom.

Her eyes landed on her ragged reflection. "Wow… I really do look like shit," she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "At least my hair's gotten longer." She ran her fingers through her bright locks and pinned them back just above her ears.

"There," she hummed and started washing her face.

"Lucy! Ichigo says to get out. He says you look fine now," Matt hugged her.

"Ok, buddy. You have fun, ok?" He nodded violently in response. "Then let me go so I can leave."

He jumped back. Ducking under his arms, she slipped back into the hall.

"Ichigo, I'll text you later," she waved at the kitchen as she slipped her shoes on.

"You stay out as long as you need, ok, sweets?"

"I will." A small smile graced her lips for a moment.

The grocery store was empty. Happily, Luciana hadn't encountered any other customers. Unhappily, she hadn't found any workers. She was just barely too short to reach the top shelf.

"Ugh…" she groaned, glancing furtively around. Grinning, she activated her quirk to create a step. She stepped onto the floating platform, grabbed what she needed, and stepped down before making the platform disappear. She continued down the aisle, towards another section.

Not paying attention to her surroundings, Luciana slammed into someone. The other person's momentum sent the woman falling backward.

"Ow!" She rubbed her back. The floor was hard!

"Are you ok?" The man she had hit reached a hand out to her.

She looked up at him as she took his hand. It was the hero, Endeavor. "Yeah, it's just the floor is a little hard, Todoroki-san," she shrugged. Todoroki Enji pulled her to her feet with a strong tug.

"Sorry about that," he looked indifferent. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Whatever," she knelt and started picking up the items that had scattered from her basket. "It's fine." She stood beside him. The top of her head only reached the bottom of his chin. "But could you help me with something?"

"Excuse me?" He looked at her, confused. His manner was much less brusque when he wasn't being a hero.

"Nevermind." She changed her mind.

"All right." He moved around her and started walking away.

Luciana turned and said, "By the way, I'm Duina Luciana."

He grunted and continued walking away.

She shrugged. "See you around!" She turned and walked away.

"How were the stores?" Ichigo asked her as they put away the groceries.

"Dead inside, like me," she snarked.

"Anything interesting happen?" He sang at her.

"Nope," she told him.

"Really? That's too bad," he sounded extremely disappointed. "Oh, well. I'll make dinner, you go get some sleep. After all, you work tonight, right?"

"Yeah, and being out and about is tiring enough," she yawned, she was working as a bouncer at Queen Bee tonight. "Wake me for dinner, then." She dragged her butt out of the kitchen.

"I know you're lying," came the singsong. "When Matt's asleep, give me all the details!" Luciana shook her head.

A deep, rich chuckle echoed from the couch. Ichigo's boyfriend, Ren, was sitting on the couch with Matt. "Babe, you might want to watch out!" his voice rumbled. He was a big guy with brown eyes, green hair, and lightly tanned skin.

"What kinda details?" Matt asked innocently, leaning towards Ren. Ren leaned towards Matt.

"Dir-Ack!" Luciana had smacked him upside the head.

"Back away from my brother," she growled. "You know the rules."

"Geez!" he scooched away, holding his hands up in surrender. "You're like a momma bear, not letting anyone even touch your brother."

"Not everyone, just some people," she plopped down between them.

"What happened to going to sleep?" Ichigo called over the running water.

"Lucy has nightmares!" Matt piped up.

"That's not it Matt," she hugged her brother. "I want to spend time with you."

"That's so da-" Ren was cut off by the girl slapping his mouth.

"No cursing." She glared over her shoulder. He nodded and she removed her hand. "Now back off, little pervert." He shuffled back.

"I'm not little!" he rebutted playfully. What he said was completely correct, the bisexual man was built like a tank.

"Yes, you are," Matt pointed at the other man's crotch. "Down there!" As soon as Matt finished speaking, Luciana turned a dark look on the man.

"How would he know that?" she asked, causing the man to begin sweating profusely.

"I-I don't k-know!" he tugged the collar of his shirt nervously.

"Ichigo says so!" Matt, completely ignorant of the dark aura directed at Ren, continued to interject.

"Is that so?" Luciana turned to him, sparkling innocently. Ren visibly drooped in relief, sighing.

"Yeah, but they were joking I think?" The boy tapped his chin in thought. He was horrible at reading social moods and tones, but he could cheer anyone up.

"Oh, I see. Maybe they should make nicer jokes than attacking other people's bodies, right?"

"Yeah. It's mean to insult people," he nodded sagely. "Tell jokes like this: Knock, knock, Ren."

"Who's there?" He gulped nervously at the dark look the teenage girl shot him.

"Pink!"

"Pink who?"

"I pink you're very nice!"

"Thanks!" he chuckled nervously.

"That's a good joke, at least I pink so," Luciana smiled happily at him.

"I agree!" Ichigo chimed in, still in the kitchen. "Ana, tell one of your jokes!"

"No, not right now," she frowned.

"Please, Lucy?" Matt begged. Giving her the puppy eyes on top of kneeling broke her resolve. She spent the rest of the evening telling jokes.

Tonights shift had been boring so far. No troublemakers showed up. "I think the troublemakers are avoiding you." Her large coworker, Hanni, voiced her thoughts.

"Well, I am the one who does most of the work." She retorted. Hanni had been hired because he was intimidating, but in reality, he was a gentle giant for the most part. She was the real muscle.

"You are very scary," Hanni patted her head. She was hired after the owner witnessed her beat several gang men on her own.

"I'm pretty certain they're not avoiding me, just trying to catch me off guard," she paused while she wiped imaginary lint off her shirt, "and rape me." She knew she was attractive, but didn't care. She had long legs, a perfect hourglass figure, big breasts, and a nice butt, and she was muscled beautifully. Or so said the many drunks around her. It was definitely one thing she didn't care to hear from them.

The big man next to her winced. "I wouldn't have been so…" he trailed off.

"Harsh, honest, blunt, frank," she ticked off the different adjectives as she checked a kid's ID. She handed it back to him and said, "Scram kid." He left.

"Yeah. You're really cynical." He let a girl inside.

They continued to check ID's, occasionally chatting. "You miss me, Sweetheart?" A man sidled up beside her and asked.

"Fuck off, rat shit," Luciana told him, continuing her work. He was on their blacklist and came to grope Luciana and beg to get inside all too often.

"Aw, don't be like that, Baby! You said you'd let me in," he leaned closer. The woman wrinkled her nose at the heavy scent of alcohol on his breath.

"If you want in, go through the line," she pushed him out of her face. "Now shoo." She pushed him back a little more before allowing a bunch of girls around her age inside. The drunk man tried to push past her and get inside. Viciously, she shoved him backward.

The man stared at her from the ground. "Now, Sweetie! That's no way to treat me!" He yelled.

"Hanni, you take care of this bitch. I'll keep the line going." The woman was resolutely looking forward at the line. Her fists were clenched.

The blond man nodded, his jaw set. One of the few things that got to Hanni was the objectification of women. He hated it. Without a word, he dragged the man around the corner. When that happened, it meant business.

Not skipping a beat when she heard a scream from the alley, Luciana kept the line moving as efficiently as she could.

The screams of pain continued for a couple more minutes before Hanni came back out. "He's agreed with me that women are special." The man was beaming. Another thing the bouncers here were famous for was their willingness to rough someone up.

"Great! Maybe he'll get the other message too." They had done this same dance repeatedly with that guy. "And next time it's my turn… there might not be anything left." Her voice was deadly. She hated men who did whatever they wanted.

**A/N: **Hewwo! I am still alive! Just busy. Things have calmed down, I should be able to post again. Anyway, I hope you guys like the series and leave a review.


	7. 7

It was Christmas Eve and Luciana was ready to go murder someone. Literally. She had Raven Wing, Crimson Blade, Ichigo, and Ren all outside her apartment.

"Raven Wing, Crimson Blade. Why the heck are you guys here?" The woman growled. "I'm cooking right now."

"I'll go watch Matt, Ren will go watch the food," Ichigo and Ren pushed past her. "You can use my apartment to talk to them."

"Thanks," she sighed bitterly. The two heroes wouldn't leave anyway, so she might as well go over some stuff. She exited her apartment, crossed the hall, and opened the door across from hers. "In. Now." The door was held open for the two.

"Please tell me you aren't going to attack us?" Crimson asked jokingly.

"No. I know you guys aren't going to leave, so I'm just going to go over the rules," she pulled them inside and locked the door behind them.

"Rule one: no heroics, no mention of it either. Rule two: No cursing. Rule three: No lewd jokes or anything inappropriate. Rule 4: No touching Matt unless he initiates contact. Rule five: My word is law so listen to me. Rule six: Stay out of my room and Matt's room. No matter what."

"All right," the two men agreed.

"Thank you. And if you want to argue with me over something, keep Matt out of it. He stays innocent of my crap. And if I leave, Ichigo is in charge," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "And keep that motherfucking Ren away from Matt at all times." Silence reigned for several minutes as she glared them down.

Her shoulders drooped and she asked, "Mishi-san, Pake-san, please grab the chairs at the table. We'll need them since you guys are here."

"It's so weird to hear you call us by our real names," Pake Kith, also known as Crimson Blade, chuckled.

"It is," Mishi Tokoyami, Raven Wing, agreed. The two of them grabbed two chairs each. Luciana was already holding the door open for them.

"Sorry about making you work," she apologized, opening the door to her apartment. Once they were in, she darted back across the hall and locked her friend's apartment.

"Duina-san, you live here?" The woman looked up to see Todoroki exiting the apartment next to hers.

"Yeah, I live there." she pointed across the hall. "I was just getting something from my friend's apartment."

"How coincidental. I suppose you wouldn't mind explaining the noises I hear?" He crosses his arms and walked towards her, a dark scowl on his face. He stopped right in front of her, using his height to his advantage.

"That's my little brother. He's not very good at being quiet. Sorry," she sheepishly rubbed her arm. "But you know, I told you we'd meet up again." Her grin couldn't get wider.

"That's correct. Now, I need to get going, or else I'll be late." He turned on his heel and started walking away in long, loping strides.

"And merry Christmas, Todoroki-San!" she waved when he glanced back and nodded.

She happily returned to her apartment, locking the door behind her.

"Pake, I'm worried about Ana-chan. The bags under her eyes are getting worse," the ravenette confided while Luciana was still outside the apartment.

"I am too. She… hasn't been herself since her the attack at the marketplace. It was right after her birthday, and she got injured," the redhead sat on one of the chairs. "Not badly injured of course, but Endeavor was there and he rescued her. She flinches whenever I bring it up."

"She's scared you'll be hurt." Ichigo had been listening, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. "She hates heroes, but ended up really caring for you two." The man shook his head. He held a hand up when they opened their mouths to ask about it.

"It's her story to tell. Might want to wait till tomorrow to talk to her, she's happy right now. That's rare," he sighed and looked at the door. "Don't hug her though, not unless you want a knee to the gut!" The strange man retreated to the kitchen.

Mishi shrugged when Pake looked to him.

"I see you guys are comfy," Luciana snapped. "Where are Matt And Ren!" She demanded.

"They're in here. I'm keeping an eye out, so calm yourself," Ichigo's voice sounded strained. "Ren needed help."

"Matt, do you want to play a game?" Luciana called, much more relaxed.

"Games!" The boy ran out of the kitchen to his room.

"One game, bud," she chuckled. He did not listen.

They had been playing for hours and the sun was setting. "Dinner's done!" Ren bellowed from the kitchen.

"Matt, take care of the games, ok?" Luciana asked as she began messing with the table. It was one of the ones that could expand and fold back down.

Wordlessly, Mishi helped her pull it out and arrange the chairs. At the same time, Pake and Ichigo had begun to set the table.

Once the food was out and everyone seated, they gave thanks and dug in. "Is gay bad, Pake-sensei?" Matt asked Pake.

"What?" he looked startled.

"No, Matt. Gay's not bad, but it's not something everybody is," Mishi said between bites of food.

"Gay's different," Pake tacked on. "But definitely not bad."

"Please hush with the gay talk. I deal with it too much already!" Luciana protested.

"Oh, hush you! You'll be fine!" Ichigo playfully shot back. The gentle banter continued for the rest of the dinner.

Dinner had gone smoothly. "Matt, sit by the tree," Luciana called from her room. He excitedly obeyed, sitting by the small tree in the corner of the living room.

She re-entered the room holding a stack of gifts. "You guys sit wherever." She set the pile between the couch and TV, sitting underneath the wall-mount.

"What?" Mishi voiced what Pake was thinking.

"I knew something would happen," the woman smirked. "I just didn't know what." The two heroes -still invading her domain- had no family to spend Christmas with. "Not sure why you guys chose to spend today with us though."

"It's because you're the best, sweetest girl alive," Ichigo told her firmly, cuddling with his boyfriend on the couch. The two heroes were sitting on the wooden chairs.

"Yeah right. Here," she passed gifts around. Each person had one, except her. "Matt always opens a present tonight, so I'm giving you guys yours now too." The two heroes and Ren stared at her. Matt and Ichigo were already tearing their gifts open.

"Why did you...?" Pake asked.

"Because I did. Now open the things!" she urged. Matt was happily playing with some hero figurines and Ichigo was squealing in delight over the new, expensive makeup palette. The three men opened their gifts at varying paces.

Ren got a shirt that said, 'best punching bag'. Heartily laughing, he put it on and thanked the smug woman. Mishi got a pair of handmade black gloves. His response was to kneel and hug the woman, who blushed at his praise. Pake got a handmade green scarf and a pack of hair ties. The grin on his face stretched from ear to ear.

They all thanked her numerous times.

"What about a gift for you?" Ren asked. Stiffening, the woman gave a wooden smile.

"It's enough to see how happy you guys are," her voice was strained.

"Are you-" Pake began.

"I'm fine! I'll be back in a little bit!" She yelled, jumped to her feet, and ran to her room. Throwing open the window, she climbed to the empty, cold roof.

The full moon taunted her with its bright perfection. Her breath came out in rapid, visible puffs as tears stained her cheeks.

"What was that about?" Ren asked, softly. Matt had moved to his room to play with his figurines.

"Luciana has had a rough life. December is a painful month for her," Ichigo told them softly. "She had an older brother. He died on Christmas day when she was nine years old. She watched him bleed out after something had happened. That changed her. Gifts remind her of it.

"Matt was the only reason she kept going. She's gotten help, but… It never really worked for her..." Ichigo trailed off. "And the biggest problem right now is...Mishi, you look almost exactly like her older brother." The silence was deafening.

**A/N: **Hello! How has your holiday season been? Hopefully well. It's a little surprising how well this lined up. I hope you guys enjoyed.


	8. 8

Luciana slowly cleaned her apartment. She was exhausted and Matt had school. Breakfast was already on the table.

Too tired to do more, the woman dropped into a chair at the table and laid her head down, knowing she had to move and make her body move were two different things. She still had to walk Matt to school too. "Lucy, you ok?" Matt poked her shoulder, still sleepy.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She struggled to lift her head. Amazingly, she hadn't noticed him coming out of his room. She slid off the chair to her feet. "Let me get your juice, then we can eat." She yawned.

"Ok, Nee-chan." He plopped into the other chair. Still shuffling, she carried two cups of juice back to the table.

Once she was seated, they began to eat in silence. "Is Hero-San going to say hi today?" Matt asked, referring to Todoroki.

"I don't know if Todoroki-san will say hi, but you never know." She yawned. Since she had discovered that he was their neighbor, she had been going out and greeting him in the morning. There were no specific intentions behind her actions, she was just trying to be a good neighbor.

Before long, they had both finished their food and Matt was showering. Luciana was preparing bento for her brother. Once it was done, she put it inside his backpack that sat by the door.

Matt emerged from the bathroom, fighting with his tie. "Let me get that." She laughed softly as she untangled the mess.

"Why can't I get it today?" he asked his older sister.

"Because you're excited, remember?" She ruffled his wet curls briefly. His eyes widened.

"Let's go!" he ran over to the door and jammed his feet into his shoes before running out. Too fast for him to remember his backpack. She scooped the heavy bag up and put it on her back with a grunt.

"Fuck it," she breathed softly as she slipped on her worn tennis shoes. Her abdomen and lower back hurt. Sometimes, being a girl was even more awful than normal. She trudged out the open door, closed it, and locked it.

Luciana glanced down the hall to see Matt animatedly chattering at Todoroki as they waited on the elevator. Grumbling under her breath, she walked over quickly.

"Matt, you almost forgot your backpack." She handed the teenage boy the bag.

He paused his stream of chatter to tell her, "Sorry." He hugged her. "Thanks and loves." He quickly resumed chattering.

"Hi, Todoroki-san." She greeted the man. He was dressed in looser fitting civilian clothes to avoid attention. He grunted in response, his sharp eyes staying firmly on the closed elevator doors.

A minute passed before the doors opened with a ding. Todoroki and Luciana were both silent as Matt chattered on and on about school. Todoroki was the first one to board. He turned and pressed the button for the first floor.

As Luciana waited for Matt to board, Todoroki studied her face. Once they were moving down, he whispered to the young woman, "You look terrible."

She shrugged. She was glad her back was to him and her brother because she wasn't certain if her pale skin would betray her embarrassment.

_Wait, why would she be embarrassed?!_ Ichigo, Ren, Pake, and Mishi had all been pointing that out, what changed now?

They all got off and separated. Maybe it was the fact that was the only thing he had said to her. Yeah, she decided, that was it. That was also the reason her heart was beating too rapidly.

Matt walked into the apartment, expecting to see and smell dinner. The table was empty, the kitchen was empty, and the couch was empty. "Lucy-nee-san?" he called out softly. No response.

He padded down the hall and knocked on the bathroom door. Still no response. He tried the knob. It turned so he left it alone. Lucy liked the door shut.

Finally, he knocked on his sister's door. The other side was silent, so he opened the door. He gasped.

Laying in the middle of the floor was his sister. She wasn't moving but was still breathing. Matt didn't care about her rule to stay out at the moment and rushed to her side. "Lucy!" He yelled, already checking her pulse and breathing. They were fine, perfectly normal. He was even more grateful she had found the money to pay for his first aid certification test now.

After trying to wake her in various ways, he decided to go get Ichigo. He was halfway across the apartment before he remembered that Ichigo and Ren were traveling. "Lucy, why now?" He whined, trying to think of what he should do. Inexperienced, he wasn't sure what he should do. He was on his own.

"Hero-senpai!" He yelled when the idea struck him. Endeavor -too complex a word for him to say right- was the number two hero and was Lucy's friend. The fifteen-year-old boy ran to get the man.

"Hero-senpai!" He called, pounding on the door. It was after seven and the man was normally home by now.

The door opened. "What?" The hero snapped gruffly.

"Lucy needs help." He spoke slowly so that it was clear. "She's not waking up, but breath and pulse are fine." Sheesh! Talking normally was hard. "I not sure what to do so I came to you, Ichigo gone."

"Show me." The man followed after the boy.

"Didn't move her." He led the hero to his sister's room. "She won't tell you what wrong anyway, Hero-senpai." Matt flicked on the light so that they could see.

"Stop calling me that!" The big man was kneeling next to Luciana and carefully checking her over. Thank goodness all heroes were required to be able to perform first aid. "Call me Todoroki."

"Toroki," the boy wrinkled his nose, "and Endvor to big. Can't talk right." He hated that he couldn't say what was in his head, but his sister loved him so he didn't mind. "Lucy not go to hospital. She has nightmares there."

"She's fine, just overtired I think." The man scooped his limp sister up and carried her out of the room. "She shouldn't be alone." He laid her on the couch and covered her with the blanket on the back.

"Will you stay?" Matt looked up, begging the man.

"I was planning on it," was the growled response as Todoroki stomped over to the table and sat down.

"Thanks!" Matt yelled, happy his sister was safe. He sat on the floor, petting her hair. "Ichigo. Call Ichigo." He mumbled to himself and grabbed his sister's phone out of her pocket since it was easier to get his own. He opened the black thing and began texting the pinkette.

**'Ichigo, Lucy passed out. She's fine but unresponsive. The neighbor next door is helping me. What do I do to help?' **He sent the text to Ichigo.

**Pinky-drink: 'She just needs sleep. When she wakes up, make sure she eats. I'll have a word with her when I get home. Otherwise, she just exhausted herself.'**

**'Thank you! I'll tell Todoroki.'**

"Ichigo say Lucy fine, need sleep then food," Matt yelled happily. The only response he got was a distracted grunt. He put her phone back in her pocket.

Luciana woke with a groan. It was dark wherever she was. Her head was pounding and she needed water. Then she needed to check on Matt.

She pulled her phone out and turned on its little flashlight as she sat up. Judging by the feel of what was around her, she guessed she was on the couch. With a sigh, she got up and headed towards the kitchen. She flipped on the light and almost shrieked.

Todoroki was sitting at her table, asleep. Gently, she shook him.

The big man sat up slowly, confused. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

His head snapped over and he glared at her. "Your brother came and got me because your friend is gone. You passed out or something and we couldn't wake you up." His voice was husky from sleep.

"Is Matt asleep?" She began unconsciously chewing her lip.

"Yeah," he looked away. "He handled the situation well if that's what you're worried about."

"No. I was more worried about whether he got food. He's mature, but can't cook. And he can be really bad at handling his emotions." She moved away from the man to the kitchen. "And, I'm probably really late for work." She glanced at the clock. It was one a.m. Too late to even go in.

"What happened anyway?" He growled. He was understandably upset at his evening being interrupted so randomly.

"I… I fell asleep?" she shrugged and sipped her water. Luciana pulled out her phone. "Fuck, Matt texted Ichigo." She collapsed into the chair across from Todoroki.

"And that's bad?" The man certainly was talkative right now.

"Absolutely. I'm going to get scolded for overworking myself." She dropped her phone on the table.

"You say that like it's happened before." His eyes narrowed on her.

"When you're an insomniac that works a bunch of night jobs and cares for your younger, special-needs sibling, it happens. Ichigo helps me, but… he's not here." She glared at him. "The only reason I'm telling you this is because you helped today. Matt is really important to me."

"Makes sense."

"Well…" she ran a hand through her hair. "Thanks. You can leave if you'd like." He nodded and stood. She followed him to the door to lock it behind him.

"Good night," she called. He didn't reply, instead of entering his apartment. Sighing, she returned to the table. There was a small paper with something written. "Emergencies only." It was his phone number, she assumed as she settled onto the couch. She added the number to her contacts.

"Now," she said to herself, "for a long day of sleeplessness or nightmares."

**A/N: **Hey! I know it's been a while, but, from here on, I should be updating more. My other stories are going to be updated every first and third Monday of the month, so I'll try to update this at the same time. Maybe even more, but who knows.


	9. 9

"You need to take a break!" Ichigo yelled for the third time. Luciana was sitting on her bed with Ichigo yelling at her. Matt was sleeping over at his friend's house so that he wouldn't overhear. "You're overworking your poor body and you're going to get hurt! Then where will Matt be? Do you think Thom would want this for you?" The woman leaped to her feet.

"Stop. I told you you could yell at me, but not to bring my brothers into this. I'm doing this to provide for Matt." The bluenette snarled into her best friend's face. "I give up everything for Matt. And I'm doing it for Thom."

"Thom didn't mean it like that! He wanted you to take care of yourself too!" He retorted.

"I do take care of myself!" She yelled. "But the nightmares get so bad, that I can't sleep!" Ichigo stumbled back as if she had slapped him.

"You… you're still having them…" his voice was soft. "You told me they were gone. Was that a lie?"

"No! They were gone!" She insisted, running a hand through her hair. "But then… I met Mishi. He looks just like him." Her voice cracked.

"I know he looks just like Thom, but he's not. Thom is gone." The pinkette hugged her. "Why didn't you tell me you started having nightmares again?"

"I didn't want to worry you. They're going away with time," she mumbled. "I'm sleeping better now."

"Ok… but if this happens again, you're quitting a job." He held her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Promise me, for Matt, because he was really worried about you."

"I promise. I won't overdo." Her gold eyes flashed with sincerity.

"Thank you." He hugged her again.

"No," Luciana slammed the door and locked it. She stomped over to the couch and dramatically flopped onto it.

"But you need to take a break!" It was Pake yelling on the other side of the door.

"I told Matt not to tell anyone! Who told you anyway?" She called back from the couch.

"Ichigo texted me! He told me what happened."

"Well, leave me alone!"

"No! Not unless you'll let me watch Matt!"

"You're not watching my brother!"

"I watch him at school!"

"This is our personal life!"

"I'm your friend!"

"Exactly!"

"That means I care about you."

"And that's why you're not going to watch Matt."

"Lucy, I stay home alone," Matt interjected from his room.

"See? He doesn't need you, Pake!"

"But he can't cook."

"Leftovers."

"What about strangers? Or other dangers?"

"He's training to be a hero! He doesn't need coddling, so stop!" She stormed over to the door and opened it. "I'm protective, not smothering. I respect his wishes and he doesn't want a babysitter. He doesn't need one."

"But I want to." The hero pouted.

The villain leaned close to him and said, "Fuck what you want. Your opinions can damn well go to bloody hell and die."

"You literally scream at me for cursing…" he muttered.

The woman retreated to the couch again. "That's because this is my home and Matt can't hear."

"Wow, that's unfair." The man stepped into the entryway and closed the door. "What are you even doing tonight?"

"Whatever I want. I haven't had a night off like this in… forever." She flipped the man off. "Matt doesn't have school, I don't have work, and Ichigo does have work. The only problem is you want to bug Matt. He's almost an adult, leave him be."

"Only if you promise to be careful." He was worried about her again.

"I'm always careful." She snarked.

"Then what about when you were walking home from work and got caught up in the fight?" he glowered at her over the couch.

"I was being careful. I just got a bump on the head and a bitten cheek." And a crush.

"...you had a knife held to your throat."

"By a boy who was terrified."

"You were tackled into a wall."

"Because I was accidentally caught up in your stupid work. It's not like I had meant to be there."

"And you just so happened to be assaulted and make Endeavor rescue you!"

"And I would have been fine!" she poked his cheek. "Go bug Ren, he's expecting you. And you are going to keep him from knowing I'm not with Matt." Ren and Pake were middle school friends.

"I swear All Might wouldn't even be able to deal with you!" The man stomped out, oblivious to the woman's reaction.

"All Might wouldn't be able to remember me." She mumbled after him. Never mind going out and bar hopping, she'd rather stay in now. Fighting with someone who was like a brother and a bad memory being brought back spoiled her good mood.

"Well, let's go buy some stuff."

"**Come 2 roof"**

**FlameBoy: "Why?"**

"**U work tomorrow?"**

**FlameBoy: "Why?"**

"**Drunk and want 2 talk"**

Luciana sighed. She had texted Todoroki a couple of times, but he generally left her on read. She looked at the texts again. She definitely was drunk if she was using text-speech. "**Plz"** She and Todoroki had been talking in the past months since she had passed out, so there was a chance he'd come.

She grabbed a bottle and sipped some more. Several empty bottles laid around her along with a couple of unopened ones.

"Why are you getting drunk up here?" Todoroki's voice rumbled from behind her.

She shrieked and jumped. The big man sat down beside her.

"Oh, you came…" she giggled. "I didn't think you would."

"How much alcohol have you had?" His brow furrowed.

"A lot. I have a high tolerance." She stopped herself from reaching up and touching his face by drinking.

"What the heck are you drinking?" His blue eyes were focused on the bottle.

"Something. You want some?" she offered the bottle. He took it and set it aside.

"No. I think you need to stop." He offered her one of the water bottles she had brought up and left sitting.

"You're right, hero boy." Her shoulders drooped. "But if I do, then the memories will come back."

"Memories?"

"My brother died, I was abused, then I…" Her eyes shot away from his. "Nevermind." She took the water and chugged it.

"You killed your parents?"

"Did your research on me, huh?" her voice was bitter.

"It was termed an accident." He was confused.

"That night," she chuckled hatefully, "that was not an accident." She snatched the open bottle off the ground and started chugging it.

"What the fuck?" He swore. There had been most of the bottle left and she had almost emptied it. He quickly grabbed the other bottles and moved them to his other side.

"What do you mean? What I said, or how much I just drank?" Her words were only slightly slurred.

"Both. Tell me how it wasn't an accident." He took the bottle and finished it so she couldn't, wincing slightly at the burn and taste.

"You're not bad," she commented. She was staring at him. "So I guess I can say. Just, don't tell anyone. Although, you might need a drink."

"Ok?"

She mumbled something, staring off into the distance. Then, she began talking. "So, I was named by my aunt. She loved America, so she gave me and my brothers with American names."

"What does that have to do with your parents?" He shifted uncomfortably, blatantly staring at her profile. She seemed to glow softly in the moonlight. "And I thought you only had one brother."

"It's a looooong story so I'll get to that." She sighed. "So, I was bullied as a child. My name was different, hard to say right, so I went by Ana. My big brother, Thomas, would always help me. He was the best, sweetest brother.

"Matt, Matthew, was born when I was five, and Thom and I loved him to pieces. His quirk has a pretty bad drawback. It affects his speech and social abilities in a bad way as you've seen. He's gotten better though.

"Fast forward about three years. I was nine, Matt was three, and Thom was sixteen. Matt's quirk was revealed to us. It was an enhancer that improved his cognitive and physical abilities. Thom's was like that too, only the physical part though, just like our father's. My quirk came from my mom and aunt. They both had a quirk like mine, but really weak. Mine was super strong. I could create stuff and barriers out of light energy or something. It was white." Her smile fell as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Thom was walking me home from the park on Christmas day when I was nine or ten. We were there so that my parents could wrap our presents. A drunk man attacked me, trying to kidnap me or something. Thom jumped in and stopped him, but he got hurt. He was injured badly by the man's quirk. I screamed and grabbed him, protecting us with a dome. There were a bunch of heroes hanging around.

"I was screaming and crying, covered in my brother's blood as I tried to help him. The heroes just watched and the man got away. My brother's last words before he died in my arms were 'I love you and Matt, so take care of him, ok, Lucy?' An ambulance showed up and took both of us in separate ambulances. They had to pry my hands off of my brother.

"I was traumatized and my quirk changed. It became darker, like… the innocent glow vanished." Luciana sniffled and wiped away some tears. "My parents changed. They became abusive toward me. They blamed me for Thom, their precious star, dying. He was trying to become a hero. My parents were so proud of him." She shuddered and stopped talking for a minute.

"I shielded Matt for the next three years. I hid the injuries and pretended to be really clumsy. I'm not clumsy though. Never was. I was always graceful and as well-balanced as a dancer. At least, that's what Thom said. I tried to get help, but…" she giggled. "Well, I was just a runaway to All Might. Nobody believed me. They all thought my parents were amazing. So, I gave up on that and did it on my own."

She fell silent for a couple of minutes. "My parents broke my arm, a couple of ribs, and gave me a concussion. They were drug addicts." She sniffled again and looked down. "I was screaming in pain from my arm and experienced a dissociative episode. I came back to my senses because of Matt. I was only twelve, and… I had no other choice." Another heavy silence fell as she regulated her breathing.

"I killed them. My quirk turned blood red. The police came, put me in the hospital, and put Matt in foster care. When I was considered well, I was put with Matt. I protected him for the next six years, doing my best for Thom. And then I got a job and brought Matt with me. I live for him and work three jobs to make it so he can go to UA." She turned and met his eyes. "Pretty sucky, huh?"

He couldn't speak, so instead, nodded. She smiled sadly and shivered. It was really cold out. "That's why I hate my last name and hate heroes.

"But, you're… different? You helped me despite me looking like I could be an attacker." She sniffled. "So are Pake and Mishi. Mishi looks like my brother. He's the same age too. But my brother didn't have wings."

"Come here," Todoroki motioned for her to come closer.

"Why?" She wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her jacket.

"Because you're cold and I produce more heat." He snapped and pulled her closer. He draped an arm across her shoulders as she leaned into his side.

"Thanks," Luciana mumbled shyly. Her cheeks were on fire!

"Tch," he scoffed. "I understand an abusive father. I had one myself."

"C-can I kiss you?" Her voice was quiet. "Just… close your eyes." She was still pretty drunk.

"Ok…?" He closed his eyes and felt her move. Luciana knelt and grabbed his face gently. Closing her eyes, she pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss before pulling back.

His eyes opened quickly. After a moment, she opened her eyes. "I told you to close your eyes." Her face was visibly red in the dim light. She covered her face with her hands. "That was my first kiss!"

"So close your eyes and move your hands." His voice rumbled. "I'll give you a real first kiss."

"F-fine." She complied. He carefully leaned in and kissed her firmly.

"That's a real first kiss." He growled.


	10. 10

"Ugh…" Luciana woke with a groan. Her head hurt a little from the mild hangover, but otherwise, she was fine for once. She squinted her eyes open.

She gasped again. She was not in her room and she couldn't remember what happened last night yet. She looked around, wondering if she had snuck into someone else's apartment.

"Oh, you're awake." Someone said from the door. "Are you ok?"

She looked up to see Todoroki. "What the hell happened last night?!" Her tone was slightly panicky.

"Calm down. You'll remember soon enough, you're just tired. You weren't that drunk," the man crossed the room and sat beside her on his bed, holding her shoulders. "I brought you to my apartment because yours was locked, so was the window and we couldn't find your keys." She began to calm down.

"Why was I in your bed?" She asked with a straight face.

"You grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go, so we shared a bed." He walked out of the room. "Now come eat breakfast."

She followed him, remembering some of what happened. She hadn't made too much of a fool of herself.

"When did you get the self-harm scars?" Todoroki asked when she sat down. "You told me to ask later."

"I remember that." They started eating. "I was in high school. It 'helped' me. I quit when I passed out from blood loss one day. I can't go dying on Matt." She explained in between bites.

"Is everything you do for Matt?" He sounded hurt.

"Practically. But kissing you," her cheeks were red, "was for me. You're the first person to catch my interest like that."

"So that was your first kiss." He looked smug about something.

"Yeah." She confirmed. "I never felt any attraction towards anyone before. Then you pop up and I'm like a teen on her period with a crush."

"That made no sense. But you could use some practice." He even winked.

"Oh my god." She started laughing. "Thanks for calling me a bad kisser!"

Her smile was infectious, as he soon started smiling. The rest of the meal passed with an amicable and flirty banter.

"Thank you, Todorki-Kun. I should probably get going." She was shy and sad and teasing all at once.

"I told you to stop calling me that. Just Enji will be fine, Luciana-chan."

"Fine, Enji-Kun!" She tugged him down and boldly kissed his mouth. He quickly deepened the kiss, sweeping her off her feet.

They parted, panting and happy. "You owe me more of those." His voice was husky again.

"Save it for next time." Her face was flushed.

"I'll hold you to that. Now get going."

"I'm going." She exited the door slowly. "I'll see you later."

The door closed behind her with no reply. Still heady from his kiss, Luciana unlocked her apartment and stepped inside.

"Where were you?!" Ichigo rushed her. "I was worried out of my mind, Honey!"

"I'm fine. No harm was done to me or any property." She laughed as her friend began checking her for injuries.

When he stopped, he shoved her back. "You could have told me you were off! I'd have taken the night off to spend with you! It was slow."

"I wanted to have a night to myself. I had to persuade Pake to leave Matt alone. He and Ren were supposed to be hanging out." She defended.

"I heard. They were quite rowdy and got kicked out of wherever they went. I think a nightclub." Ichigo snorted in irritation.

"Oh… yeah, they went to Queen Bee. They got put on the watch list," Luciana sighed, showing the email that had been sent to her by her boss. "Just means we bouncers have to keep an eye on them next time they go in. They can clear this up."

"Thank goodness! I was worried they'd get in trouble." Ichigo was being dramatic.

"It was mainly Ren who was in trouble. Pake was well-behaved." She reported, reading the email. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep for the day." She stashed her phone in her pants pocket.

"NoooOooo! Spend time with me!" he whined. "Tell me why your mouth looks like that!" Her lips were slightly swollen from the kiss.

"YeeeeEeeeEees!" She whined back, mocking him. "I'm tired, I was up late, so I need to catch up on some sleep." She yawned.

"Fine, then you'll tell me when Matt's in bed before you go to work." He demanded petulantly.

"Maybe." She ran for her room.

"Promise me!" he chased after her.

"Maybe!" She slammed and locked her door.

Rattling the handle, he continued to plead with her to promise to share. Too tired to deal with him more, she shut the blinds and put on some pajamas. "All right, 'go. Enough. I'm exhausted." The events of last night were showing.

"Sleep well, Sweetie!" He called and walked away.

Luciana looked at the door then at the window. "Just to be safe..." she muttered and double-checked the lock on her window and blocked the door. She settled into bed and tried to keep her mind off her sexy neighbor that she had kissed.


	11. 11

Luciana: "What are we as a relationship?" Luciana had been sneaking around Ichigo and Matt to spend time with Enji for months after that night. So far, the only thing they had done was kiss, talk, and cuddle. She had even kept it a secret from Ren, Pake, and Mishi.

"Why are you asking this?"

"Because… I'm not sure. I really don't understand this stuff."

"Well… if you'll let me, I'll take you on a date. Then you can be my girlfriend." Enji wished he was with Luciana right now instead of watching his underlings 'train'. He had learned, the simplest things embarrass her while others, normally embarrassing things didn't faze her. She would be so cute with that flush of red as she tried to hide in her jacket.

It took Luciana a few minutes to reply. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'll take you on a date like a boyfriend." A smirk found its way onto his face as he imagined her reaction. She was probably laying on her bed, curled up under a pile of blankets.

"Really? What is it like to have a boyfriend?"

"I don't know, but having a girlfriend is always nice. She can come over and give me a massage after a long day, and I'll do the same. When she's sick, I'll take care of her and cook for her."

"And when the boyfriend is sick she'll take care of him and cook for him. And they'll each take care of each other?"

"Exactly." Enji could see her curling in on herself in embarrassment. He'd much rather be with her.

Just thinking about her body alone could get him hard.

"I need to sleep. It's almost ten."

"You're right. I'll let you go. Sweet dreams."

"Have a good day." She was always sweet to him, no matter how rude he got. Although, accommodating her sleep schedule was frustrating. As a result, their time together was somewhat infrequent.

"Boss, on a scale of one to ten, how bad were they?" Enji's best friend, Sakai Izo, asked. He was a civilian with brown hair, brown eyes, and gray skin. His quirk was chill, which just kept his body and his surroundings at a lower than normal temperature.

"They don't even deserve a rating, Izo," the hero grumbled. Sakai shrugged.

"I could tell. Are you texting that woman again?" His civilian friend looked at the dark phone in his hand.

"She's not just some random woman. She's my neighbor." Enji and Sakai were closer than brothers.

"Can I meet her?"

"Maybe, but that definitely won't happen for a while."

"Why?" The brunette whined.

"Because she works at night."

"Yeah… That would make it hard… hard like she makes your dick," the smaller man teased.

"Shut up and go do your job," the hero growled.

Luciana had been stuck thinking of what Enji had said all night. It had taken her way too long to fall asleep and now she was really tired. "Would you like anything else tonight?" She asked one of her customers. She was working as a waitress at Lucky Tabs tonight.

"Yeah, a piece of your ass!" The man groped her. His female companion didn't care. "Gimme your number." He drunkenly demanded.

She grabbed his wrist in a crushing grip and said, "Sir, if you'd like to lose a hand, by all means, continue." She was completely polite.

"Heh, I like spunky woman," he chuckled, obviously not understanding. His companions were all edging away from her murderous aura. "So, let me know when you get off and I can show you a real good time."

Her smile never faltered as she crushed his hand and slapped his mouth. "Ma'am, do you mind taking this harlot off my hands?" He was whining about the pain. "Don't worry, it's only bruises." She assured the idiot and walked off.

"You know, if you want tips, you should probably stop being a bitch to your customers," S suggested.

"I'm just tired tonight. And you know how I feel." She retorted tiredly. They were both exceptionally good-looking and it generally helped them out. Except for when they were groped.

"Yes, I do. Like a piece of meat." He patted her shoulder. "Just a few more hours of this bullshit and we're done."

"Yeah…" she muttered as he disappeared into the crowd. S rarely acted like this with her around other people. It was nice.

A few minutes later, she returned to the table with the idiot. "On the house." She planted a round of drinks in the middle of the table. "Would you like your bill?"

"Yes, please," the idiot's girl replied.

"But where's my free drink?" the idiot whined. Luciana wordlessly gave them their receipt after receiving the money. The blunette walked away smirking.

When she returned to clean the table, she found a large tip and a scrap of paper with a phone number written on it. There was also a note, proving that the idiot wrote it. It read, 'Don't worry, I like pain. Call me so we can play more.'

She cringed as she read it and tucked it away. She was going to show it to S later so they could laugh at it. Then, she'd burn it like always. That was the most satisfying thing ever.

The rest of her shift went decently smoothly. There were more idiots, but she managed not to kill anyone. "S, I gotta show you something." They had closed and finished cleaning up.

"What is it, slut?" He growled.

"That idiot I slapped actually left his number! Look, bitch," she giggled as she waved the paper at him. His demeanor instantly changed. "And a bunch of others." She pulled out a whole bunch of papers.

"Damn, you were popular tonight." His laughter joined hers as he pulled out his stack of numbers.

"I know. I have that idiot's, eleven other guys, and twelve girls." She sorted through them.

"I got… five guys and fourteen girls." He sighed. "You win tonight and you didn't even flirt. Gonna call any of them?"

"Nope. Did you flirt?" She swept all her numbers into a pocket.

"Yeah… but my girl is gonna have fun with these." He swept his up and put them away. "She'll probably prank call them all." He shrugged.

"I'll just stick to burning mine. See you, S," she gave him a quick side hug before heading for the door.

"Be careful, L!" He yelled after her. She shot him a smile over her shoulder.

"I will."

**A/N: **I know it's a day late, but it's better than two, right? Oh... uh... three. Sorry. But yesterday was my birthday. Uh... bye? Review plz? *ducks under couch* imma be here if you need me.


	12. 12

"Enji," Luciana began softly. "Do you just like me because I'm hot?"

"What?" His confusion was evident. The two of them were spending an evening together before Luciana had work and before Enji went to bed.

"Do you just like me because I've got a really nice body?" Her voice got even softer as she spoke.

"No. I'll admit, I like that, but that's not why I spend time with you. If that was the case, I'd have just fucked you months ago and left it at that." He tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear and out of her eyes. "Look at me." He held her chin gently.

"I was serious about taking you on a date." Her face turned red as she searched his softening eyes. "You interest me and I want to know you. You've treated me as a person, even when I was a hero or an asshole. And I like that." Her face grew redder and redder as he spoke. It was so red, it rivaled the color of her quirk.

"You mean it?" She had pulled her chin out of his grip and hid it in her jacket.

"Yes, I mean it. Why don't we go on a date now?" He rubbed her back.

"B-but I have work in an hour!" She met his eyes before hiding her face again.

"You're so cute!" His laughter was deep and warm. "We can just go out for dessert." He pulled her closer.

"O-ok," she mumbled into her jacket. "Or we could stay here for it." She shot him a wink as she flirted confidently. They hadn't done anything sexual aside from innuendos.

"You know, I love how easily you flirt and tease me, but as soon as I compliment you, you get shy." He chuckled again when she squeaked and hid her face again.

They sat in comfortable silence. "You know, I like you because you are unique and treat me differently. And because you're sweet, and kind, and gentle when you could be hard and cruel. I like how you're rough around the edges and distant, but caring." Luciana told him, confidence back. "Not because you're a hero or whatever. And… I'd really like to go out with you."

"Perfect." He kissed the top of her head. "Get ready to go then, babe." Her face turned red again.

"Curse my pale skin!" Hiding her face, she ran to the bathroom, followed by his rich laughter. Being around Luciana, Enji smiled and laughed a lot.

Eventually, they both got ready and headed out. The nights were warmer with the coming of spring, but they were still cool. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere." Enji had an arm resting across her shoulders protectively. When he had first put his arm there, Luciana had blushed again.

"You know, before I met you, I never had any interest in guys or girls and never blushed. Now, look at me, blushing like crazy because of a hot guy I'm…" She tried to fill the silence but lost her voice to the embarrassment.

"Dating. We're dating and you are my girlfriend. Mine. That means no flirting," he said loud and proud. He had learned of her competition with S and helped her burn all the numbers.

"Stop." Her face was burning even more. "Please?" She looked up at him with a pleading look.

"But you look so cute when you're embarrassed." He grumbled. "And we're here." He guided her into a little restaurant.

"Are you serious?" Luciana looked around in wonder. The little hole-in-the-wall restaurant was tastefully decorated but not overdone. "This place is beautiful."

"I know." He was smug as he guided her to a table near the back.

It wasn't long before a waitress came over to greet them. Although, she only greeted Enji.

"Hey, Enji. What are you doing here so late?" The lithe blonde hung herself off his arm, pressing her breasts into him. "Do you want some company?"

"I'm on a date." He grunted pointedly, lacing his fingers through Luciana's.

"Oh…" she finally noticed the blunette. "I'll be right out with your orders."

"Who was that?" Luciana's tone had changed.

He cleared his throat. "I was a regular here before I met you." He was blushing. "She always clung to me and did that whenever I came around. But this restaurant is really good."

"So, she's just a clingy bitch with no claim on you?" Her tone warmed fractionally.

"Yeah. She won't stop." He smiled awkwardly at her. "I hope you don't mind, but I didn't realize she'd be here."

"It's fine. Just…" She trailed off.

"What?" he squeezed her hand.

"Don't let her touch you like that." She growled. "I don't like the way she's throwing herself at you."

"You're jealous." He pointed out. She nodded. "I'll try. I can't promise."

"I'll just deck her," Luciana promised.

He laughed. "While I know you can and will, you probably shouldn't."

"You're right…" She muttered. "But I want to."

The woman chose to bring their orders in the lull. She carelessly tossed Luciana's order on the table and carefully set Enji's down. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me." She trailed her nails up Enji's arm before cupping his face.

"Enough, Paloma." Enji pushed her away.

"But why? I'm better than that slut." The woman pouted, using her arms to accentuate her large breasts. "She's not good enough for you."

"I said enough." He growled and stood. "If you don't stop, I will make you." His size alone was intimidating enough without the threatening aura he gave off.

"Fine, you stupid asshole!" She stepped back nervously, betraying her faux confidence. "I didn't want you anyway!"

"That's it. Insult me, but you don't insult him." Luciana walked over and slapped her. "Fuck off, you desperate hoe. He's my boyfriend and you are just some slut who wants to use him. Now go screw a trash can, it'll be worth more than you."

Enji grabbed Luciana's shoulders and pulled her to his chest. "You heard her."

"Paloma! That's enough!" The manager had come out. "Go to my office, now!" He yelled at the blonde. Once she had complied, the man approached the two.

"I'm sorry," Luciana apologized, bowing her head.

"Oh, no! That's fine. I was going to fire her anyway. This just gave me a reason to do it now! So thank you." He shook her hand.

"Oh… thank goodness. I was really liking this place. I'd have been sad to not be able to eat here," she sighed in relief.

"Our ice cream melted," Enji pointed out.

Luciana checked her phone, "And I need to go to work soon. I'll be late if I don't go now..."

"Here." Enji offered enough money to cover the desserts.

"No need." The man waved him off. "Just come back some other time and you'll get a free meal."

"All right." Enji acquiesced and they left. "I'm sorry our date got ruined."

"It's not your fault," she told him and grabbed his hand. "We can go there for dinner sometime though, right?" She sounded worried.

"Of course. I want to take you on a proper date," he squeezed her hand.

He leaned over so his mouth was by her ear and whispered, "And there's another thing I really like about you. How fucking hot you are when you're angry."

Her cheeks turned red, but instead of hiding in her jacket, she turned her head and kissed him. Happily, he kissed her back.

When they pulled away, they were panting slightly. "And you're a good kisser now. On top of being strong." Her blush grew brighter.

"I would shut you up with a kiss, but I need to get a move on." She tugged him along by their joined hands.

"Which job tonight?" He complied and followed her.

She hurried her pace and looked away from him. "The errand one."

"Stay safe." He knew what she did, but had no details. It hurt Luciana to hide it, but she had no choice.


	13. 13

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It had been a month since the failed date and Luciana finally had enough time at the same time as Enji. "'Go, do I look good in this?" This was the third outfit she had tried on./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You look fine!" He was getting frustrated. He hadn't even met Enji and all the woman would do was talk about him./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""But…" she was blushing. "Nevermind…" She retreated to her room./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""'But' what, woman?" He snapped at her closed door./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm doing the same thing as you and Ren do." The door opened to reveal a red-faced Luciana. "That's embarrassing."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She had changed again and was now wearing some nice pants and a neat gray sweater over a white shirt./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Perfect!" He clapped. "You look perfect! Let's get some makeup on you." He grabbed her arm./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She gently pulled her arm back and told him, "No, I don't want makeup… it feels like too much."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""All right, at least brush your hair again." Her hair was messy from changing repeatedly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine," she sighed and followed him to the bathroom. "But, my hair's long enough that I want to try something."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After brushing and combing her hair, she tied it back into a ponytail. "What do you think?" It was really small but cute./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's adorable!" He was squealing/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, good. I was worried I'd look weird." She adjusted her hair a little more while nibbling on her lip./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You'll be fine. It's just a date," her friend soothed./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's literally my first date ever! The only reason this is even happening is that I got drunk," she admitted as she fidgeted her sweater./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Calm down," he slapped her hands away from her sweater and fixed it. "You're fine now, and you will be fine during the date."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What if he hates me after this?" Her whisper was barely audible./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh, Sweetie, no one could hate you. I still don't, despite the millions of pranks you play on me and how little you take care of yourself," he reassured her, rubbing her back gently./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's you." She looked at the ground. Lying to everyone was so hard./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He couldn't find the words to help her, so he remained silent./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Taking a deep breath, Luciana smiled and said, "If he can deal with drunk me, then he'll be able to deal with me like this."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You go get him, girl." Ichigo smiled. "Just make sure you have your keys."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh! You're right!" She ran back to her room and grabbed them. "Thank you for reminding me!" She slipped them into her pocket after clipping them to a belt loop./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You also have your phone?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You'll tell me all the details?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No." The glare directed at him was deadly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Please?" He begged, giving her puppy eyes./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nope. Matt begs me all the time. Nope." She grinned as she slipped on a stylish pair of gray boots./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" He kneeled and shook his joined hands in a begging motion. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No." She leaned against the door and watched him, an evil smirk on her face./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He continued to beg pathetically only to be refused at every time./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Someone knocked on the door, slightly shaking it. Luciana jumped away, nibbling on her lips again. She opened the door to see her boyfriend./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hi," she mumbled shyly. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt that hugged his chest. "You look nice." Her cheeks were pink./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You look beautiful." He winked, causing her cheeks to go full-on red. "But what was I hearing?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You heard me begging her to tell me what happens tonight. I'm Ichigo, her best friend," Ichigo stood and offered his hand to shake. When Enji took it, his hand was dwarfed by it./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nice to meet you," he grunted. "Todoroki Enji, although, I'm certain you already knew that."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, I recognized you instantly. Luciana refuses to talk about you though," he pouted./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's because you'd just drool over him. He's mine, not yours. You've got a boyfriend," she teased, only slightly defensive. The possessiveness was not subtle in the slightest though./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Damn girl! No need to be like that," her friend teased. The blush that had faded was back full force./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why don't we go?" Enji asked, smirking at her. Instead of replying, the blunette grabbed his arm and slammed the door once they were outside. Laughter echoed from inside. Hurriedly, she dragged him away from her door before dropping his arm./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh gosh!" She buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""For...?" He raised a brow./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That- Calling you mine." Her face was so red it might as well have glowed. "L-let's just go."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He shrugged and rested his arm across her shoulders. "Now we can go."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah," she smiled at him. Her eyes were dancing and almost glowing./span/p 


	14. 14

"When are you two going to go another date?" Ichigo asked.

"For the last time. I. Do. Not. Know!" Luciana practically screamed. Her friend had bugged her with the same question all week, every damn chance he got.

"Come on!" He grumbled. "But, do you want condoms?"

"What?" She asked flatly.

"Do you want condoms? I saw the way he was looking at you. He likes you more than just a little." He started making kissy faces.

"What are you, a kid?"

"What? No." He denied it.

"Riiight." Luciana continued to cook. She began cutting up some veggies.

"So, when are you guys going out again?" He asked as if he hadn't just done so a few seconds ago.

"If you don't stop, I'm going to stab you." She pointed the knife at him.

"No, you're not." He stuck his tongue out.

Breathing deeply, she continued to chop the vegetables. "Shut up."

"Fine. But do you want condoms?" The knife flew across the room and stopped a hairsbreadth from his face. Her quirk was wrapped around the blade, stopping it.

"All right, I'll shut up." The pink-eyed man backed out of the kitchen in surrender. Luciana stomped over and snatched the knife.

Too irritated to speak, she growled at him as she stomped back to the counter. She began viciously cutting again.

"Lucy ok?" Matt had taken Ichigo's place in the doorway.

"I'm fine," she told him as calmly as she could. "Just sick of Ichigo."

"Enji-san is why right?"

"Yeah. He keeps asking about us and I'm tired of it," she scowled at the food as she scraped it into a pot. "Dinner will be done in fifteen minutes."

"Ok. Thanks and loves!" the boy yelled happily and returned to the other room.

"Agh..." Luciana groaned. Matt's 'graduation' was coming up soon. She had to be up all day for that. "What am I doing with my life?"

She was secretly a 'quirkless' villain -which no one knew but her- that was dating a well-known hero, and she worked two other jobs to support her brother while sending him to a plus-ultra expensive school. On top of that, she had two other pro heroes that had butted into her life.

Too much was wrong with it all.

"Luciana, you should probably stop muttering and slamming stuff around," Ren called. The couple, who lived _across_ the hall, was spending way too much time here.

"You don't live here! So shut up," she hissed. Something crashed and she screeched.

"Watch the food for now," she commanded once she had calmed down enough to speak right.

"All right. You want to help, buddy?" Ren asked Matt.

"Yes!" The boy bounced energetically into the kitchen. They continued to prepare dinner as Luciana stalked off to her room. Ichigo also moved to the kitchen, studiously avoiding her.

Not stopping in her room, the blunette opened the window and climbed out. She slammed it shut behind her and climbed to the roof.

Up there, she stopped. Someone was already up there. It wasn't like it was her space, but it was rare. She sat beside the fire escape, unsure of who was with her.

"I suppose you come up here as an escape?" It was her boyfriend.

"Yes," she mumbled and moved next to him. He was so warm.

"I heard you yelling," he told her.

"Oh… sorry. I'm just stressed out. Matt's moving up soon, Ichigo won't leave me alone about when we're going on another date, he also won't leave me alone about condoms. My jobs take up too much of my time," she ranted. "And I really miss you."

He draped an arm across her shoulders, pulling her closer. "My job is stressful and time-consuming. I can't spend time with my girlfriend in public for the most part. And, on top of that, I'm surrounded by idiots most of the time and frustrated." Luciana's face was pink from his words.

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, playing with it the best as she could. "I'm sorry," she murmured, her head resting against his chest. She listened to his heartbeat. "Do… do you want to come to eat dinner with me? I've been wanting to formally introduce you to Matt anyway."

"Well, I already know him, but sure." His voice rumbled pleasantly.

"Great, just let me do something." She slipped out of his hold and stood behind him. "Since you're so stressed." She began massaging his shoulders, working the tension out of his muscles.

"Mm…" he relaxed into her touch. "What about you?" He was so cute, worrying about her.

"I'd rather just do this for you," she whispered into his ear, her hands expertly dancing across his shoulders. "Just enjoy it while it lasts."

He sighed in contentment. Then in disappointment when she stopped. "Babe, I love your quirk and all, but I'm not fireproof." His hair and shoulders were on fire.

"It won't hurt you," he assured her, waving a hand through it. "These flames are harmless." Hesitating, she carefully stuck her hand in the flames. They were merely warm, no warmer than his body.

"You just suddenly lit up. I thought it was cute, but, I'm not looking to get burnt right now." She resumed massaging the knots away.

"Sorry," he grunted.

"It's fine." She kissed the back of his neck through the low flames, careful to keep her clothes away. "But it seriously is cute."

He groaned when she stopped. "Why are you stopping?" He whined.

"Because the knots are gone. And as much as I enjoy doing that, I'm hungry." Her stomach growled as if to emphasize her point. "And you, Mister, have to go inside the normal way. I highly doubt you fit through the window. And Ichigo would bitch at me if you came in through my window."

Enji grumbled under his breath but rose to his feet. He pulled Luciana close and gave her a quick kiss. When they parted, she pulled away quickly.

"We should go now," she laughed sweetly, "before we get too caught up." Her eyes flicked to his crotch, where a tent was starting to form. She smiled at him.

"It's your fault," he grumbled and adjusted himself blatantly. All it took was her touching him or kissing him and this happened.

"It better be," she growled. "You can come over when you've taken care of it."

"Or you could come to help me with it?" He winked at her. She began walking away, intentionally swaying her hips for him.

"That, Babe, is a bad idea. But, thanks and loves." She winked back before disappearing over the edge.

"Dammit!" He was even harder because of her.

"What took you so long?" Ichigo asked her. "And why on earth do you look so happy?"

"I took all the time I needed and I look happy because I look happy." She retorted smugly. She was setting the table.

"Why are there five places?" He asked as she dragged over the extra chairs she had bought.

"Because there are." She smirked at him and walked away. Sitting on the couch, she began messing with her hair. Her friend rolled his eyes and resumed playing on his phone.

When a knock echoed from the door, Luciana was at the door almost immediately. "Damn girl! If I didn't know better, I'd have thought your quirk was teleportation!" Ichigo whistled.

After checking for Matt, she flipped him off and opened the door. "Hi," she greeted. It was Enji, finally.

"Hey," he returned, eyes wandering her body before settling on her lips.

She rolled her eyes at him and beckoned him inside. "No kissing in front of Matt." She whispered to him as he passed. He had been briefed on her rules before.

"That's a new one," he pointed out.

"Well, yeah. It's different right now. And I'd rather not do that around my baby brother." She pushed his back gently.

"That makes sense."

"Ooh~!" Ichigo squealed. "You invited your boyfriend!" He wasn't too loud at least.

"Sh!" Luciana dashed over and slapped a hand over his mouth. "I've still got to break the news to Matt. And I'd rather do it myself."

"Mphmf," He said.

"What?" She removed her hand.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled sheepishly. "I didn't know."

"I haven't had the chance too. We don't exactly have much time together." She poked his side. "And I wanted him here to tell Matt. It'll go smoother."

Nodding in agreement, Ichigo turned back to his phone. Luciana glanced at her boyfriend, who had settled on the couch.

"Dinner will be done soon," Ren called out.

"Perfect. Matt, come here a minute, please."

"Yes?" He came out of the kitchen, smudged with flour and oil.

"You know Enji, right?" She gestured to the couch.

"Enji help me when you pass out." He started bouncing.

Smiling, she nodded and told him, "Well, he's my boyfriend now. Our relationship is not like Ichigo's and Ren's." He began getting very excited.

"You date Lucy!" He yelled at Enji, running over to the man.

"Yes." His answer was short and his mouth was a thin line, but there was amusement in his eyes.

"Matt! I need your help!" Ren yelped.

"Thanks and loves!" The boy shouted before dashing back to the kitchen.

"That's where you got that phrase." Enji mused aloud as the woman settled next to him. "It's cute."

"Of course it's cute! My brother started it." She declared, relaxing into his side.

"You two are so cute together!" Ichigo fanboyed.

"Shut up and stop staring at my boyfriend. Go stare at yours." She muttered sleepily. Ichigo's jaw dropped.

"You are one lucky dude she trusts you so much that she starts falling asleep." The pinkette directed at the redhead before retreating to the kitchen.

"Ignore him," Luciana mumbled before yawning.

"Did you not sleep well?" Enji began running his fingers through her soft hair.

"'M just tired. Matt was home earlier than usual and 'cus of you I didn't fall asleep until later than normal." Her eyes had fallen shut. "And you're so warm."

"Go to sleep," he told her sweetly, smiling at her. She made a soft noise. He continued to run his hand through her hair.

"As I said, you're lucky. She never sleeps when people are in the same room as her unless she feels completely safe." Ichigo had returned and was staring at Luciana.

"That… makes too much sense considering what happened to her."

"You are the first person she's ever done that with except for her little brother…"

"What?" Enji stared at the caramel-skinned man.

"I mean, she trusts you so much that she'll allow herself to be defenseless around you." The gay man ran his hand through his hair. "She doesn't even do that with me… Although, it probably helps that you're warm."

"Hmm…"

"Don't hurt her."

"He hurt Lucy, I find way hurt him!" Matt yelled. He was watching from the kitchen doorway.

"I won't."

"If you do, you regret it." The black-headed boy insisted.

Enji chuckled. "I'll try not to." His soft gaze was trained on his sleeping girlfriend.


	15. 15

Redcat stared at the hero in front of her, completely silent. He stared directly at her, not seeing her. His gaze shifted elsewhere as he continued to watch for any villains.

The masked woman had to hold back a laugh as his gaze swept over her again. He was so blind to her presence!

Finally satisfied, he walked to another spot and began searching anew. This time, he wouldn't be able to see her as she slipped into the building.

A smirk hidden under her mask, she picked the lock on the window and opened it. The alarm system didn't go off. Her accomplice had done its job right. Technology was the best. The villain climbed through the window and shut it behind her. A moment later, the hero returned to the spot in front of it.

Her smirk grew. Heroes were setting up a sting to take down the gang that had attacked Endeavor a while ago. She was here to use that chaos to steal a treasure.

Something in the darkness looming beyond the window clattered. Narrowing her eyes, the villain slipped into the shadow of a tall shelf.

"Ack! Fuck, that hurt." A man cursed. It was an inner guard; One of the gang members. Climbing quickly, she delicately scurried along the shelves of the warehouse.

Coming up to a gap, the female stopped. She watched the floor, waiting for a guard to pass by.

It didn't take long for a large man to pass between the towering shelves. The flashlight he held in his hand swept back and forth across the floor. Once he was out of sight, the silent villain stood and pulled herself to the metal beams that created the rafters. She continued towards the center of the room.

Only a few more guards appeared underneath her feet. She knew something was wrong, but she had a job to complete. Unhappy with whatever surprise was planned, she stopped above the glass case that held her objective. A bloodied person was being held in a cage a few feet from it.

Her chest tightened as she watched the pitiful person, too injured to tell their gender, labor for breath. She glared up at the ceiling. Curse her conscience!

A low light caught her eye. It was a skylight. Thank goodness for her conscience! She now had a better escape than before.

A soft clank echoed from the floor. A guard was taunting the prisoner, but she couldn't hear the words.

"Tch," she clicked her tongue quietly as she began getting ready to drop down. Chloroform on a cloth, grappling hook attached, gun secured, lock picks prepared, and smoke bombs readied. As soon as the guard's raucous laughter was gone along with the man, she dropped. The cord attached to her stopped her from hitting the ground.

"Who are you?" The prisoner, with a fresh cut, asked her. They were cowering in the corner now.

"No one important, now hush." She told them. Her voice sounded strange thanks to the voice changer she wore. She turned around and began opening the case while disabling the security measures.

"A guard will be here soon," the prisoner muttered. She nodded and slid the wrapped object into her bag before placing a note in its place. She returned to the cage and knelt.

"What are you doing?" The person hissed. She ignored him.

Working quickly, she picked the lock on the cage. "Come quickly and quietly or else." The villain beckoned them over. The prisoner was a woman with blue hair, like Luciana's.

The blunette grabbed the injured woman and pulled her close just before a guard walked over. Before he could see them properly, Redcat dropped a smoke bomb and used the grappling hook to get back to the rafters. The woman in her grip began to struggle, looking panicked.

"Or else it is." The villain pressed the cloth over the captive woman's mouth. It only took a moment for her to pass out. The villain tossed the captive across her shoulders after taking the gun strapped there off.

Heroes began rushing in as the operation began. The villain shattered the glass of the skylight with her grappling hook and began to pull herself out.

On the slanted roof, she found a hero. It was Raven Wing. He stood in front of her and glared at her.

"Fuck." She adjusted the woman on her back. The gun in her hand was pointed into the air. She was grateful for the voice changer.

"Hello, Redcat. This is a pleasant surprise." He remarked. They had butted heads before.

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry. You see, this woman requires medical attention." She retorted politely as always. "She was kidnapped by this gang, and I happened to rescue her. So, please let me go. Just this once." The woman on her back moaned in pain as Redcat shifted her again.

"Give her to me and go. This is a one-time thing." He held his arms out.

"Thank you." She passed the woman to him. She slipped a paper into his hand before running off the edge of the roof. The hero watched as she disappeared.

After he had given the woman to the paramedics, he looked at the paper, reading aloud. "You're the cat's meow. I'll remember this favor you did and repay it later or now. -Redcat"

Luciana relocked the safe where she stored her villain gear and covered it with clothes from the bin before resealing it. Glaring at the clock, she hurriedly gathered her clothes to shower. Matt would be up soon.

She hurried through her shower before setting the table hurriedly. Today was cereal. Taking the job and working at Queen Bee had not been easy. At least she had tonight off completely.

"Morning Lucy!" Matt was cheery today.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" she asked him, trying to be as cheerful.

"Grad-u-a-tion day!" He cheered.

"Dammit…" she grumbled under her breath. "I'm sorry, bud. I forgot that was today."

"I know." He sat down to eat.

"I'll get dressed after breakfast." She winced. She promised she'd wear a dress today. "And tomorrow, I'll make you pancakes."

He cheered before digging into his cereal. It wasn't long before the two of them had finished and gone to change.

Luciana stared at her reflection in her full-length mirror. It was a gift Ichigo had bought for her. The dress she wore was a simple red sundress, but it was still foreign.

"Come on Lucy!" Matt yelled, banging on her door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She called back, tying her hair up. It had gotten long enough for almost all her hair to be braided a tiny bit. She opened her door. "How do I look?" She twirled for him.

"Be-a-u-ti-ful!" He sounded the word out.

"Oh! I'm so proud!" She hugged him. His speech was improving. "And you look so handsome!" He had tied his tie all on his own today.

"Let's go!" He grabbed her arm and began pulling her away.

"Wait! Go get your bag first!" She pulled her wrist out of his grip. She held it to her chest and glanced over it. The concealer was still fine.

Matt turned and ran back to his room to get his bag. "Thanks and loves!" She smiled as she slipped on a pair of red flats that matched her dress. He returned just as quickly and began shoving his shoes on his feet.

Still smiling proudly, Luciana opened the door. After today, Matt would be a second year at UA.

Walking out into the hall, they were greeted by Enji.

"Hey." the golden-eyed woman stepped out from behind Matt. "What do you think?" She gave him a twirl.

"I think it suits you." His voice was warm. "You look fantastic." Her cheeks grew red as if to match her outfit.

"Hush, you!" Her bright smile made her eyes dance.

"Go! Lucy, go!" Matt pulled her arm. "We need go! See Enji later."

She laughed and allowed him to pull her along. "Sorry," she told her boyfriend. "Later."

"Later," his pleasant chuckle rumbled.

"Come on, Matt. Time for you to be another step closer to your dream."


	16. Chapter 16

"Matt! I told you not to touch that!" Luciana yelled. Her shoulder-length, light blue hair was slipping out of the braid and into her bright golden eyes.

"Sorry, Lucy!" The sixteen-year-old boy didn't look apologetic in the least. His messy black hair and dancing blue-gray eyes screamed of happy mischief.

"Ugh! Now it needs to be cleaned again!" Her little brother had been touching the tv screen with messy hands, trying to irritate his sister. Sometimes, he was really like a young child instead of a teenager.

"Calm down, Luciana," Mishi chuckled. The woman glared at the hero. His blue-gray eyes were warm behind his shaggy black hair.

"Easy for you to say," she huffed. "You don't live with him."

"No, I just teach him. Well, I try to." The man was pouting. "He's so advanced. I go to teach a new move, and he's already got it down and helping the other kids."

"You're welcome," she told him proudly, wiping the screen clean again.

"Don't be upset, Mishi," Pake interjected. "She's been training him for years. He's advanced in everything."

"I smart," Matt agreed and continued to build his tower. It was extremely complex and steady already.

"Arg!" Luciana growled, redoing her hair again. "I need to get it cut!"

"Why?" Matt asked.

"It's hot, keeps getting in my eyes, and it's too much work! It gets in the way at work too much!" She roughly finished the braid and put the elastic back in. "Plus, I can't have people grabbing it while I'm trying to work."

"True…" The black-haired hero agreed reluctantly.

"But, you could just use this." The red-headed hero, who happened to have long hair, offered a small stick. "I use it to tie my hair into a bun all the time. When it's not in a 'man bun'." He used Luciana's term for his favored hairstyle sarcastically.

"Fine, when my hair comes undone, teach me how to use it. I've got…" she glared at the clock. "Ten minutes to wait… too long."

The three males laughed at her. Standing behind Matt, she flipped them off, ensuring her brother wouldn't see. The two heroes continued to laugh, the black-haired one's wings began unfurling.

She shook her head and continued to clean the apartment thoroughly. A few minutes later, her angry yell echoed.

"Come here! I'll fix your hair for you!" Pake yelled at her.

"Fine," she growled, padding over to the man silently. "This had better help."

"It will," he told her, "just kneel with your back to me, ok?" She shot him a look as she did as he instructed.

"This might pull and be uncomfortable at first. Just warning you." He told her before pulling her hair into a bun, explaining the process in detail.

When he was done, she hissed, "You like wearing this? It pulls my scalp."

"As I said, it might be uncomfortable. It'll take time and training."

"Fuck," she swore quietly as she adjusted the bun. "I hate this thing." She stalked off to see what it looked like.

"Lucy looks pretty. Beau-ti-ful!" Matt declared proudly.

"Thanks, buddy!" Luciana still hadn't returned. The two men continued to banter as Matt built. His tower was architecturally sound and brilliant to look at. The colors didn't even clash.

Luciana came back and glared at the winged man in her living room."Mishi! I swear, I will kill you if you don't clean up the mess you made right now!" The winged hero had spread his wings and left a large mess of feathers and dander.

"Ah…" he sheepishly closed his wings and began to pick up the feathers.

"Get the vacuum too!" She commanded irately.

The other hero was laughing his head off as his companion vacuumed the mess.

The woman turned on the laughing man. "You should have reminded him not to open his wings inside." She smacked him upside the head. He abruptly stopped and apologized.

"Now get out. Ten minutes are up." She shooed them away. "And remind me we need to train with each other." Moments later, she was back to cleaning the apartment. When she was done, she sat on the couch and stared at her brother's building. It seemed too complex to be built out of simple blocks, but it was.

"Matt's too smart." It was already almost fall. Several months had passed since Matt had become a second-year at UA. He had come closer than anyone else to reveal her secret identity. If he did, he could do anything with the information. What he did would be up to him, no doubt the right thing in his mind.

A knock on the door broke her from her musings. "Coming." She knew who it was, but it never hurt to be safe. She peeked through the hole quickly. The man on the other side was tall, with red hair and fierce blue eyes. She opened the door and leaped into his arms.

"Oof." He teased. He was expecting it and strong enough to stand his ground.

"Shut up!" She hugged her boyfriend gladly. "Come on." She pulled him inside without releasing her grip.

"You're weird." He kissed her forehead.

"You like it." She let him go long enough for them to sit down. "Besides, we haven't had a chance to spend time with each other in over a month! Can you blame me?" She relaxed against him.

"I can't," he chuckled.

"Anyway! I got a nice movie for us to watch." She hopped up and put a movie on before hurrying into the kitchen. "I've also got popcorn." She came back with a big bucket. She settled by Enji, leaning into him.

"Thanks." He mumbled softly. She hummed in reply as she let her hair down.

The movie was over and Luciana was asleep, lying on top of Enji. Enji stared at the blank screen. He had turned the tv off using the remote after it finished.

"Don't leave me…" Luciana mumbled sleepily. In response, her boyfriend began running a hand through her hair, soothing her.

"I won't," he replied.

She sighed, before speaking again "'M sorry."

"Sorry for what?" He asked softly.

"Can't tell you…" she grumbled and stretched. "Wanna tell you, though."

"Tell me what?"

"Tell… tell you what I am."

"What are you?"

"Horrid. But Matt needs me…"

Enji cursed softly. She was good at dodging his questions even when she was almost asleep.

"No cursing around Matt. I'm sorry I can't tell you." Her voice was softer. "I wish…"

"You wish?" He prompted.

"You weren't…" she trailed off as she snuggled into his chest. Enji held her comfortingly. "You keep my nightmares away."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, content. Silence reigned for the next several minutes.

Enji let out a soft snore, waking Luciana some. His hand was still in her hair and one of his arms was wrapped around her waist, trapping her.

"I love you." She whispered, settling against his warm chest to watch over him.

"Hmm…" Luciana woke, pleasantly warm. She had fallen asleep again. She felt her 'pillow' move, signaling Enji was still here. Keeping her eyes closed, she shifted around an uncomfortable hard spot.

Enji moaned. Startled, she tensed, moving more. He moaned again. She froze, her face puzzled and pink. Slowly, her tired brain comprehended what was going on. Her boyfriend had morning wood.

"You know," Enji said, his voice husky. "That is certainly a nice way to wake up. Good morning, beautiful."

"Shut up." Her face was thankfully turned away from him. Since it was red from his compliment. The embarrassed woman moved again.

"Shit," he moaned. "You need to stop." The warm hand resting on her back, under her shirt, moved up to her bra strap.

"Why should I?" She moved to face him, purposely teasing him.

"Because I had a very nice dream that I would love to act out." He pulled on her bra slightly. "And I don't know if I can stop myself if you keep that up." His voice dropped to a husky growl. He stared into her eyes, his pupils dilated.

"Well, maybe I'd like that." She smirked and ground against him. His hand wandered down to rest on her ass.

"I don't think other people would, sexy," he whispered into her ear. Her face turned red again.

"This is fun and all…" She slipped off his chest. "But I'm hungry." His stomach rumbled. "And so are you."

"Yeah…" he grumbled. "But, maybe I'll go take a cold shower first." The bulge in his pants had only grown larger. He adjusted himself as she stalked away.

"Go ahead. I'm going to make breakfast," Luciana called from the kitchen. "Why not use our shower? It's faster."

"I'll… be right back then. I hope you have a good breakfast prepared to make up for your teasing," he told her as he stood.

"Keep that attitude up and you'll get no breakfast from me," she threatened seriously.

Enji smiled at her. "That's what I like to see." He sauntered toward the bathroom. Luciana smiled as she watched him leave. Happily, she started breakfast.

A knock sounded at the door. She peered through the hole to see a brunette, gray-skinned man. She opened the door.

"Hi," the strange man greeted. He was about Luciana's height, his brown eyes slightly below hers. "Is Enji here?"

"No. You are?" she asked, blunt as ever. She wasn't going to let anyone mess up her morning, and this man was not important.

"Sakai Izo, Enji's best friend." He held his hand out.

"Ah, I'm his neighbor." She shook his cold hand.

"And his girlfriend." He smiled. It didn't reach his cold eyes.

"Yeah. If that's all, I have food cooking. Good day." She smiled back, equally cold as his. Ignoring the man, she shut the door.

"Have a good day!" He yelled to her as she returned to the kitchen. Distrustfully, she eyed the door as she finished cooking. She did not like that man in the least.

"Matt! I told you not to touch that!" Luciana yelled. Her shoulder-length, light blue hair was slipping out of the braid and into her bright golden eyes.

"Sorry, Lucy!" The sixteen-year-old boy didn't look apologetic in the least. His messy black hair and dancing blue-gray eyes screamed of happy mischief.

"Ugh! Now it needs to be cleaned again!" Her little brother had been touching the tv screen with messy hands, trying to irritate his sister. Sometimes, he was really like a young child instead of a teenager.

"Calm down, Luciana," Mishi chuckled. The woman glared at the hero. His blue-gray eyes were warm behind his shaggy black hair.

"Easy for you to say," she huffed. "You don't live with him."

"No, I just teach him. Well, I try to." The man was pouting. "He's so advanced. I go to teach a new move, and he's already got it down and helping the other kids."

"You're welcome," she told him proudly, wiping the screen clean again.

"Don't be upset, Mishi," Pake interjected. "She's been training him for years. He's advanced in everything."

"I smart," Matt agreed and continued to build his tower. It was extremely complex and steady already.

"Arg!" Luciana growled, redoing her hair again. "I need to get it cut!"

"Why?" Matt asked.

"It's hot, keeps getting in my eyes, and it's too much work! It gets in the way at work too much!" She roughly finished the braid and put the elastic back in. "Plus, I can't have people grabbing it while I'm trying to work."

"True…" The black-haired hero agreed reluctantly.

"But, you could just use this." The red-headed hero, who happened to have long hair, offered a small stick. "I use it to tie my hair into a bun all the time. When it's not in a 'man bun'." He used Luciana's term for his favored hairstyle sarcastically.

"Fine, when my hair comes undone, teach me how to use it. I've got…" she glared at the clock. "Ten minutes to wait… too long."

The three males laughed at her. Standing behind Matt, she flipped them off, ensuring her brother wouldn't see. The two heroes continued to laugh, the black-haired one's wings began unfurling.

She shook her head and continued to clean the apartment thoroughly. A few minutes later, her angry yell echoed.

"Come here! I'll fix your hair for you!" Pake yelled at her.

"Fine," she growled, padding over to the man silently. "This had better help."

"It will," he told her, "just kneel with your back to me, ok?" She shot him a look as she did as he instructed.

"This might pull and be uncomfortable at first. Just warning you." He told her before pulling her hair into a bun, explaining the process in detail.

When he was done, she hissed, "You like wearing this? It pulls my scalp."

"As I said, it might be uncomfortable. It'll take time and training."

"Fuck," she swore quietly as she adjusted the bun. "I hate this thing." She stalked off to see what it looked like.

"Lucy looks pretty. Beau-ti-ful!" Matt declared proudly.

"Thanks, buddy!" Luciana still hadn't returned. The two men continued to banter as Matt built. His tower was architecturally sound and brilliant to look at. The colors didn't even clash.

Luciana came back and glared at the winged man in her living room."Mishi! I swear, I will kill you if you don't clean up the mess you made right now!" The winged hero had spread his wings and left a large mess of feathers and dander.

"Ah…" he sheepishly closed his wings and began to pick up the feathers.

"Get the vacuum too!" She commanded irately.

The other hero was laughing his head off as his companion vacuumed the mess.

The woman turned on the laughing man. "You should have reminded him not to open his wings inside." She smacked him upside the head. He abruptly stopped and apologized.

"Now get out. Ten minutes are up." She shooed them away. "And remind me we need to train with each other." Moments later, she was back to cleaning the apartment. When she was done, she sat on the couch and stared at her brother's building. It seemed too complex to be built out of simple blocks, but it was.

"Matt's too smart." It was already almost fall. Several months had passed since Matt had become a second-year at UA. He had come closer than anyone else to reveal her secret identity. If he did, he could do anything with the information. What he did would be up to him, no doubt the right thing in his mind.

A knock on the door broke her from her musings. "Coming." She knew who it was, but it never hurt to be safe. She peeked through the hole quickly. The man on the other side was tall, with red hair and fierce blue eyes. She opened the door and leaped into his arms.

"Oof." He teased. He was expecting it and strong enough to stand his ground.

"Shut up!" She hugged her boyfriend gladly. "Come on." She pulled him inside without releasing her grip.

"You're weird." He kissed her forehead.

"You like it." She let him go long enough for them to sit down. "Besides, we haven't had a chance to spend time with each other in over a month! Can you blame me?" She relaxed against him.

"I can't," he chuckled.

"Anyway! I got a nice movie for us to watch." She hopped up and put a movie on before hurrying into the kitchen. "I've also got popcorn." She came back with a big bucket. She settled by Enji, leaning into him.

"Thanks." He mumbled softly. She hummed in reply as she let her hair down.

The movie was over and Luciana was asleep, lying on top of Enji. Enji stared at the blank screen. He had turned the tv off using the remote after it finished.

"Don't leave me…" Luciana mumbled sleepily. In response, her boyfriend began running a hand through her hair, soothing her.

"I won't," he replied.

She sighed, before speaking again "'M sorry."

"Sorry for what?" He asked softly.

"Can't tell you…" she grumbled and stretched. "Wanna tell you, though."

"Tell me what?"

"Tell… tell you what I am."

"What are you?"

"Horrid. But Matt needs me…"

Enji cursed softly. She was good at dodging his questions even when she was almost asleep.

"No cursing around Matt. I'm sorry I can't tell you." Her voice was softer. "I wish…"

"You wish?" He prompted.

"You weren't…" she trailed off as she snuggled into his chest. Enji held her comfortingly. "You keep my nightmares away."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, content. Silence reigned for the next several minutes.

Enji let out a soft snore, waking Luciana some. His hand was still in her hair and one of his arms was wrapped around her waist, trapping her.

"I love you." She whispered, settling against his warm chest to watch over him.

"Hmm…" Luciana woke, pleasantly warm. She had fallen asleep again. She felt her 'pillow' move, signaling Enji was still here. Keeping her eyes closed, she shifted around an uncomfortable hard spot.

Enji moaned. Startled, she tensed, moving more. He moaned again. She froze, her face puzzled and pink. Slowly, her tired brain comprehended what was going on. Her boyfriend had morning wood.

"You know," Enji said, his voice husky. "That is certainly a nice way to wake up. Good morning, beautiful."

"Shut up." Her face was thankfully turned away from him. Since it was red from his compliment. The embarrassed woman moved again.

"Shit," he moaned. "You need to stop." The warm hand resting on her back, under her shirt, moved up to her bra strap.

"Why should I?" She moved to face him, purposely teasing him.

"Because I had a very nice dream that I would love to act out." He pulled on her bra slightly. "And I don't know if I can stop myself if you keep that up." His voice dropped to a husky growl. He stared into her eyes, his pupils dilated.

"Well, maybe I'd like that." She smirked and ground against him. His hand wandered down to rest on her ass.

"I don't think other people would, sexy," he whispered into her ear. Her face turned red again.

"This is fun and all…" She slipped off his chest. "But I'm hungry." His stomach rumbled. "And so are you."

"Yeah…" he grumbled. "But, maybe I'll go take a cold shower first." The bulge in his pants had only grown larger. He adjusted himself as she stalked away.

"Go ahead. I'm going to make breakfast," Luciana called from the kitchen. "Why not use our shower? It's faster."

"I'll… be right back then. I hope you have a good breakfast prepared to make up for your teasing," he told her as he stood.

"Keep that attitude up and you'll get no breakfast from me," she threatened seriously.

Enji smiled at her. "That's what I like to see." He sauntered toward the bathroom. Luciana smiled as she watched him leave. Happily, she started breakfast.

A knock sounded at the door. She peered through the hole to see a brunette, gray-skinned man. She opened the door.

"Hi," the strange man greeted. He was about Luciana's height, his brown eyes slightly below hers. "Is Enji here?"

"No. You are?" she asked, blunt as ever. She wasn't going to let anyone mess up her morning, and this man was not important.

"Sakai Izo, Enji's best friend." He held his hand out.

"Ah, I'm his neighbor." She shook his cold hand.

"And his girlfriend." He smiled. It didn't reach his cold eyes.

"Yeah. If that's all, I have food cooking. Good day." She smiled back, equally cold as his. Ignoring the man, she shut the door.

"Have a good day!" He yelled to her as she returned to the kitchen. Distrustfully, she eyed the door as she finished cooking. She did not like that man in the least.

**A/N: **I promise I'm alive. I meant to update, but I got busy. Finals are done now! I'll try to update more regularly.


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